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Identification of a novel coronavirus in bats - PubMed

doi: 10.1128/JVI.79.4.2001-2009.2005.

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Identification of a novel coronavirus in bats

L L M Poon et al. J Virol. 2005 Feb.

Abstract

Exotic wildlife can act as reservoirs of diseases that are endemic in the area or can be the source of new emerging diseases through interspecies transmission. The recent emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) highlights the importance of virus surveillance in wild animals. Here, we report the identification of a novel bat coronavirus through surveillance of coronaviruses in wildlife. Analyses of the RNA sequence from the ORF1b and S-gene regions indicated that the virus is a group 1 coronavirus. The virus was detected in fecal and respiratory samples from three bat species (Miniopterus spp.). In particular, 63% (12 of 19) of fecal samples from Miniopterus pusillus were positive for the virus. These findings suggest that this virus might be commonly circulating in M. pusillus in Hong Kong.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.

(A) Protein sequence alignment of coronavirus RdRps. The conserved motifs for RdRps are indicated above the sequences. Specimens collected from M. pusillus at geographical site 1 (*), M. pusillus at geographical site 2 (¶), and M. schreibersii (specimen 86) and M. magnater (specimens 88 and 96) at site 3 (+) are indicated. 229e, HCoV-229E. (B) Phylogenetic analysis of RNA sequences encoding RdRp (partial sequence).

FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.

Protein sequence alignment of coronavirus S proteins (partial sequence). The HR1 and HR2 regions are indicated. The locations of potential N-glycosylation sites in the Bat-CoV sequence are marked by asterisks. TGV, TGEV; NL63, HCoV-N63; 229E, HCoV-229E; OC43, HCoV-OC43.

FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.

(A) Phylogenetic analysis of RNA sequences for the S gene (partial sequence). (B) Predicted coiled-coil regions in the deduced S-protein sequence. The coiled-coil regions were predicted by Stablecoil 1.0 with a 35-residue window width. The HR1 and HR2 regions are indicated. (C) HR1 and HR2 in the S protein of Bat-CoV. The a and d positions of the strongest predicted coiled-coil heptad repeats are indicated. The 14-amino-acid residue insertions that are unique in group 1 viruses are underlined.

FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.

(A) Phylogenetic analysis of RNA sequences coding for helicase-ExoN (partial sequence). (B) Protein sequence alignment of coronavirus helicase-ExoN. The conserved motifs for helicases and the first motif for ExoN (DEDD motif I) are indicated. The invariant acidic residues in DEDD motif 1 are labeled with white stars below the sequences. The inverted open triangle above the sequences marks the predicted 3CL proteinase cleavage site.

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