Bat-Associated Parvoviruses: High Genetic Diversity and Novel Viruses in Gia Lai and Dong Nai Provinces, Vietnam

Bats are recognized as key reservoirs for diverse viruses, including members of the Parvoviridae family. Vietnam hosts an exceptionally wide variety of bat species, yet the diversity of parvoviruses in these populations remains largely unexplored. This study provides the first survey of parvoviruses in bats from Gia Lai and Dong Nai provinces, screening 150 samples from 26 bat species and detecting parvoviruses in 38 (25%). A total of 45 viral operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified, encompassing four parvoviral subfamilies: Parvovirinae, Densovirinae, Penbrevirinae, and Hamavirinae. However, only two of these OTUs were attributed to ICTV-accepted species. Twenty-six OTUs were assigned to recognized genera but exhibited insufficient sequence similarity to established species, suggesting they may represent novel species within these genera. The remaining 25 OTUs could not be assigned to any ICTV-accepted genus, including 14 that remained unclassified even at the subfamily level, indicating the presence of novel parvovirus lineages at the genus rank or above. Overall, 95% of detected viral variants were classified as potentially novel, revealing a substantial reservoir of Parvoviridae diversity in the region. Phylogenetic analysis of vertebrate-infecting parvoviruses showed that the detected dependoparvoviruses were most closely related to viruses from primates and pinnipeds, while the chaphamavirus sequences formed a clade associated with carnivore viruses, and the embehamavirus sequences showed high homology to a virus previously detected in human plasma from a neuroinfection case. These results underscore the importance of comprehensive bat virome surveillance and enhance our understanding of the viral diversity and potential zoonotic threats posed by parvoviruses.