Plasma virome of cattle from forest region revealed diverse small circular ssDNA viral genomes

Background Free-range cattle are common in the Northeast China area, which have close contact with farmers and may carry virus threatening to cattle and farmers. Methods Using viral metagenomics we analyzed the virome in plasma samples collected from 80 cattle from the forested region of Northeast China. Results The virome of cattle plasma is composed of the viruses belonging to the families including Parvoviridae, Papillomaviridae, Picobirnaviridae, and divergent viral genomes showing sequence similarity to circular Rep-encoding single stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses. Five such CRESS-DNA genomes were full characterized, with Rep sequences related to circovirus and gemycircularvirus. Three bovine parvoviruses belonging to two different genera were also characterized. Conclusion The virome in plasma samples of cattle from the forested region of Northeast China was revealed, which further characterized the diversity of viruses in cattle plasma. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12985-018-0923-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.