Diverse RNA viruses of arthropod origin in the blood of fruit bats suggest a link between bat and arthropod viromes

Bats host diverse viruses due to their unique ecology, behavior, and immunology. However, the role of other organisms with which bats interact in nature is understudied as a contributor to bat viral diversity. We discovered five viruses in the blood of fruit bats (Hypsignathus monstrosus) from the Republic of Congo. Of these five viruses, four have phylogenetic and genomic features suggesting an arthropod origin (a dicistrovirus, a nodavirus, and two tombus-like viruses), while the fifth (a hepadnavirus) is clearly of mammalian origin. We also report the parallel discovery of related tombus-like viruses in fig wasps and primitive crane flies from bat habitats, as well as high infection rates of bats with haemosporidian parasites (Hepatocystis sp.). These findings suggest transmission between arthropods and bats, perhaps through ingestion or hyperparasitism (viral infection of bat parasites). Some “bat-associated” viruses may be epidemiologically linked to bats through their ecological associations with invertebrates.