{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T05:16:26Z","timestamp":1783487786968,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782950400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Prevention and Control of Emerging and Major Infectious Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project","award":["No. 2025ZD01900100"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No. 2025ZD01900100"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The northeastern region of China is characterized by complex ecosystems, including forests and wetlands, and borders North Korea, Russia, and Mongolia. It serves not only as a natural reservoir for various microorganisms but also as a critical geographical and ecological hub for cross-border exchanges in Northeast Asia. Based on metagenomics and meta-transcriptomics investigations, this study systematically reviews the current research status of novel pathogens in the northeastern border region of China. It systematically organizes the newly discovered species, their classifications, and geographical distributions, with a focus on analyzing novel viruses that have potential pathogenicity to humans. The novel viruses identified in the northeastern border region belong to 11 viral families, including 9 from the Nairoviridae, 4 from the Rhabdoviridae, 3 each from the Astroviridae, Picornaviridae, and Parvoviridae, and 1\u20132 from other viral families, indicating a broad diversity of newly discovered viruses. These novel viruses are found in a wide range of hosts, including humans, ticks, minks, Marmota sibirica, and Myodes rufocanus, underscoring the significant public health risks these viruses pose. Geographically, the novel viruses discovered in the northeastern border region show a clustering pattern, with new species primarily concentrated in areas bordering Russia and North Korea. This highlights the unique role of the region as a hotspot for cross-border pathogen transmission and risk. The findings provide a systematic scientific reference for understanding the spectrum of unknown novel pathogens and their geographical distribution in the northeastern border region, assessing the risk of emerging infectious diseases, and optimizing active surveillance systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v18070735","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T15:52:24Z","timestamp":1783007544000},"page":"735","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Novel Species Diversity in China\u2019s Northeastern Border Region"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-7988-641X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Linghui","family":"Yuan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Na","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China"},{"name":"School of Public Health, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2723-2173","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Min","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianguo","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiguo","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0947-8839","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhenjun","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huang, Y., Zhang, S., Tao, Y., Yang, J., Lu, S., Jin, D., Pu, J., Luo, W., Zheng, H., and Liu, L. (2023). Morphological and genomic characteristics of two novel actinomycetes, Ornithinimicrobium sufpigmenti sp. nov. and Ornithinimicrobium faecis sp. nov. isolated from bat faeces (Rousettus leschenaultia and Taphozous perforates). Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol., 13.","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2023.1093407"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cao, S., Ma, J., Cheng, C., Ju, W., and Wang, Y. (2016). Genetic characterization of hantaviruses isolated from rodents in the port cities of Heilongjiang, China, in 2014. BMC Vet. Res., 12.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12917-016-0695-7"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, N., Li, A., Liu, Y., Wu, W., Li, C., Yu, D., Zhu, Y., Li, J., Li, D., and Wang, S. (2020). Genetic diversity and evolution of Hantaan virus in China and its neighbors. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 14.","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.01.28.922724"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ji, Z., Jian, M., Yue, P., Cao, W., Xu, X., Zhang, Y., Pan, Y., Yang, J., Chen, J., and Liu, M. (2022). Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in Ixodidae Tick around Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Pathogens, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens11020143"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"390","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(24)00616-9","article-title":"A series of patients infected with the emerging tick-borne Yezo virus in China: An active surveillance and genomic analysis","volume":"25","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2116","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa1805068","article-title":"A New Segmented Virus Associated with Human Febrile Illness in China","volume":"380","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"184","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copbio.2021.01.019","article-title":"Metagenomic tools in microbial ecology research","volume":"67","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2018.12.002","article-title":"Virome analysis of tick-borne viruses in Heilongjiang Province, China","volume":"10","author":"Meng","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ticks Tick.-Borne Dis."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"199006","DOI":"10.1016\/j.virusres.2022.199006","article-title":"Virome analysis of ticks and tick-borne viruses in Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces, China","volume":"323","author":"Cai","year":"2023","journal-title":"Virus Res."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"434","DOI":"10.1038\/s41591-020-01228-y","article-title":"Identification of a new orthonairovirus associated with human febrile illness in China","volume":"27","author":"Ma","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. Med."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, Z., Li, L., Xu, W., Yuan, Y., Liang, X., Zhang, L., Wei, Z., Sui, L., Zhao, Y., and Cui, Y. (2022). Extensive diversity of RNA viruses in ticks revealed by metagenomics in northeastern China. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis., 16.","DOI":"10.1101\/2022.04.27.489762"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1254","DOI":"10.3201\/eid2906.230056","article-title":"Novel Orthonairovirus Isolated from Ticks near China-North Korea Border","volume":"29","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"Emerg. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e29567","DOI":"10.1002\/jmv.29567","article-title":"Identification of a novel orthonairovirus from ticks and serological survey in animals near China-North korea border","volume":"96","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Med. Virol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"821","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa2313722","article-title":"A New Orthonairovirus Associated with Human Febrile Illness","volume":"391","author":"Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"200","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMc2410853","article-title":"Human Infection with a Novel Tickborne Orthonairovirus Species in China","volume":"392","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1186\/s42523-025-00422-y","article-title":"Enteric viromes of healthy farmed mink (Neovison vison) from Shandong and Liaoning provinces, China","volume":"7","author":"Li","year":"2025","journal-title":"Anim. Microbiome"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138","DOI":"10.1186\/s12985-022-01847-6","article-title":"Metagenomic analysis of viral diversity and a novel astroviruse of forest rodent","volume":"19","author":"Yin","year":"2022","journal-title":"Virol. J."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0018025","DOI":"10.1128\/spectrum.00180-25","article-title":"Meta-transcriptomics characterization of individual Marmota sibirica reveals a wide spectrum of viral and bacterial pathogens in Inner Mongolia of China","volume":"13","author":"Peng","year":"2025","journal-title":"Microbiol. Spectr."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"62","DOI":"10.3390\/v16010062","article-title":"Metatranscriptomics Reveals the RNA Virome of Ixodes Persulcatus in the China-North Korea Border, 2017","volume":"16","author":"Wang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Viruses"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1200","DOI":"10.1080\/22221751.2021.1936197","article-title":"A new nairo-like virus associated with human febrile illness in China","volume":"10","author":"Wang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Emerg. Microbes Infect."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138","DOI":"10.7589\/JWD-D-21-00137","article-title":"Tacheng Tick Virus 1 and Songling Virus Infection in Great Gerbils (Rhombomys opimus) in Northwestern China","volume":"59","author":"Ji","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Wildl. Dis."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1936","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(12)61678-X","article-title":"Ecology of zoonoses: Natural and unnatural histories","volume":"380","author":"Karesh","year":"2012","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Di Bartolo, I., De Sabato, L., Ianiro, G., Vaccari, G., Dini, F.M., Ostanello, F., and Monini, M. (2024). Exploring the Potential of Muridae as Sentinels for Human and Zoonotic Viruses. Viruses, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/v16071041"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-024-07901-3","article-title":"Farmed fur animals harbour viruses with zoonotic spillover potential","volume":"634","author":"Zhao","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"935","DOI":"10.46234\/ccdcw2020.256","article-title":"Epidemiological Characteristics of Plague in the Meriones unguiculatus Plague Focus\u2014Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, 1950\u20132019","volume":"2","author":"Liu","year":"2020","journal-title":"China CDC Wkly."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.46234\/ccdcw2019.005","article-title":"Isolated Cases of Plague\u2014Inner Mongolia-Beijing, 2019","volume":"1","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"China CDC Wkly."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1007\/s11684-018-0613-4","article-title":"Pneumonic plague epidemic in Northeast China in 1910\u20131911: Dr. Wu Lien-Teh\u2019s epidemic preventive system for plague control","volume":"12","author":"Zhang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Med."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"591","DOI":"10.20506\/rst.39.2.3109","article-title":"Emergency preparedness and response to African swine fever in the People\u2019s Republic of China","volume":"39","author":"Wu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Rev. Sci. Tech."}],"container-title":["Viruses"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1999-4915\/18\/7\/735\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T04:45:06Z","timestamp":1783485906000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1999-4915\/18\/7\/735"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["v18070735"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/v18070735","relation":{},"ISSN":["1999-4915"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1999-4915","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]]}}}