Viruses, Vol. 11, Pages 980: Identification of a Novel Betacoronavirus (Merbecovirus) in Amur Hedgehogs from China

Viruses, Vol. 11, Pages 980: Identification of a Novel Betacoronavirus (Merbecovirus) in Amur Hedgehogs from China Viruses doi: 10.3390/v11110980 Authors: Susanna K. P. Lau Hayes K. H. Luk Antonio C. P. Wong Rachel Y. Y. Fan Carol S. F. Lam Kenneth S. M. Li Syed Shakeel Ahmed Franklin W.N. Chow Jian-Piao Cai Xun Zhu Jasper F. W. Chan Terrence C. K. Lau Kaiyuan Cao Mengfeng Li Patrick C. Y. Woo Kwok-Yung Yuen While dromedaries are the immediate animal source of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemic, viruses related to MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have also been found in bats as well as hedgehogs. To elucidate the evolution of MERS-CoV-related viruses and their interspecies transmission pathway, samples were collected from different mammals in China. A novel coronavirus related to MERS-CoV, Erinaceus amurensis hedgehog coronavirus HKU31 (Ea-HedCoV HKU31), was identified from two Amur hedgehogs. Genome analysis supported that Ea-HedCoV HKU31 represents a novel species under Merbecovirus, being most closely related to Erinaceus CoV from European hedgehogs in Germany, with 79.6% genome sequence identity. Compared to other members of Merbecovirus, Ea-HedCoV HKU31 possessed unique non-structural proteins and putative cleavage sites at ORF1ab. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Ea-HedCoV HKU31 and BetaCoV Erinaceus/VMC/DEU/2012 were closely related to NeoCoV and BatCoV PREDICT from African bats in the spike region, suggesting that the la...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research