The scientists, including from the Imperial College London and the University of Nottingham, screened for coronaviruses 48 faecal samples from 16 of the 17 bat species breeding in the UK. NEW DELHI: A team of international scientists have identified new bat species native to the UK that carry a Covid-like virus, and maybe just a few mutations away from infecting humans.
The scientists, including from the Imperial College London and the University of Nottingham, screened for coronaviruses 48 faecal samples from 16 of the 17 bat species breeding in the UK.
They recovered nine (two novel) complete genomes across six bat species: Four alpha coronaviruses, an MERS-related betacoronavirus, and four closely-related sarbecoviruses (a subgroup of coronavirus).
The four sarbecovirus genomes were recovered from two distinct horseshoe bat species.
Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae) are considered the reservoir of many zoonotic viruses – which jump from animals to people including the close relatives of the viruses that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome and Covid-19.
“But our findings indicate that the RhGB01-like viruses likely require further adaptations, particularly in their spike proteins, before they can make a zoonotic jump,” the researchers said.
In addition, the spike proteins of these sarbecoviruses are just one mutation away from a furin cleavage site (FCS) that enhances infectivity in other coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2.
“The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 is a sobering reminder of the massive impact of zoonotic viruses on global health and the economy. Despite this, genomic surveillance in wildlife remains limited,” the researchers said. While in the study,” the UK sarbecoviruses would require further molecular adaptations to infect humans, their zoonotic risk is unknown but warrants closer surveillance,” they added.
Source link
