2023-06-30 10:11:33
A number of new coronavirus species – including two SARS-CoV-2-like viruses – have been found in bats in the UK. What this means for possible future pandemics is still unclear.
Pandemics arise when viruses that affect animals cross the species barrier and also infect humans. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was the last to do this in Asia. Researchers from Great Britain have now isolated nine complete genomes of coronaviruses from samples from six native bat species, including two from previously unknown virus species. In total, it identified four alphacoronaviruses, one MERS-related betacoronavirus and four sarbecoviruses. The latter is a subgenus of the betacoronaviruses, which include SARS-CoV-1 and -2. The four sarbecovirus genomes were obtained from samples from two species of horseshoe bat.
To test whether the coronaviruses can also infect human cells, the researchers led by Cedric Tan from The Francis Crick Institute in London produced four different lentivirus-based pseudoviruses, each of which contained the gene for the spike protein of a coronavirus species. Using cell culture studies, the researchers were able to show that at least one virus can bind to the human ACE2 receptor and infect human cells – albeit suboptimal.
The authors around Tan conclude that the corona viruses would have to change further in order to be able to infect people effectively. Their results showed that the zoonotic risk of sarbecoviruses extends beyond Asia, emphasizing the importance of global surveillance of the virus family. For the study, the research team examined 48 fecal samples from 16 of the 17 bat species native to the UK. To do this, they worked with experts from bat conservation programs, who collected excrement for two years.
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