Viruses, Vol. 15, Pages 1897: Genotype and Phenotype Characterization of Rhinolophus sp. Sarbecoviruses from Vietnam: Implications for Coronavirus Emergence

Viruses, Vol. 15, Pages 1897: Genotype and Phenotype Characterization of Rhinolophus sp. Sarbecoviruses from Vietnam: Implications for Coronavirus Emergence Viruses doi: 10.3390/v15091897 Authors: Sarah Temmam Tran Cong Tu Béatrice Regnault Massimiliano Bonomi Delphine Chrétien Léa Vendramini Tran Nhu Duong Tran Vu Phong Nguyen Thi Yen Hoang Ngoc Anh Tran Hai Son Pham Tuan Anh Faustine Amara Thomas Bigot Sandie Munier Vu Dinh Thong Sylvie van der Werf Vu Sinh Nam Marc Eloit Bats are a major reservoir of zoonotic viruses, including coronaviruses. Since the emergence of SARS-CoV in 2002/2003 in Asia, important efforts have been made to describe the diversity of Coronaviridae circulating in bats worldwide, leading to the discovery of the precursors of epidemic and pandemic sarbecoviruses in horseshoe bats. We investigated the viral communities infecting horseshoe bats living in Northern Vietnam, and report here the first identification of sarbecoviruses in Rhinolophus thomasi and Rhinolophus siamensis bats. Phylogenetic characterization of seven strains of Vietnamese sarbecoviruses identified at least three clusters of viruses. Recombination and cross-species transmission between bats seemed to constitute major drivers of virus evolution. Vietnamese sarbecoviruses were mainly enteric, therefore constituting a risk of spillover for guano collectors or people visiting caves. To evaluate the zoonotic potential of these viruses, we anal...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research