Network analysis of host–virus communities in bats and rodents reveals determinants of cross-species transmission

Luis, Angela D.; O'Shea, Thomas J.; Hayman, David T. S.; Wood, James L. N.; Cunningham, Andrew A.; Gilbert, Amy T.; Mills, James N.; Webb, Colleen T.

There were two globally distributed communities of rodents with 61 and 44 species (Fig. 4b,c) and two communities that were more spatially restricted. Each rodent species on average overlapped with 68% of the species within its community vs. 7% outside of its community (t = 4.66, d.f. = 6.12, P = 0.003; Fig. 4b-e) . The house mouse, Mus musculus, has spread across the globe along with its viruses (Fig. 4b) . Removing this species results in largely the same community structure, indicating this species has already facilitated the transmission of viruses to multiple sympatric species across the globe. The black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, R. norvegicus, are also widely distributed and are the main species holding the green community together (Fig. 4c) . When either Rattus species is removed from this community, it splits into several smaller communities, suggesting less secondary viral spread to sympatric rodent species.