National Infection Service, Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury, UK.
NIHR Health Protection Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7TX, UK.
Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 19;11(1):14723. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-94011-z.
The source of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown, but the natural host of the progenitor sarbecovirus is thought to be Asian horseshoe (rhinolophid) bats. We identified and sequenced a novel sarbecovirus (RhGB01) from a British horseshoe bat, at the western extreme of the rhinolophid range. Our results extend both the geographic and species ranges of sarbecoviruses and suggest their presence throughout the horseshoe bat distribution. Within the spike protein receptor binding domain, but excluding the receptor binding motif, RhGB01 has a 77% (SARS-CoV-2) and 81% (SARS-CoV) amino acid homology. While apparently lacking hACE2 binding ability, and hence unlikely to be zoonotic without mutation, RhGB01 presents opportunity for SARS-CoV-2 and other sarbecovirus homologous recombination. Our findings highlight that the natural distribution of sarbecoviruses and opportunities for recombination through intermediate host co-infection are underestimated. Preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to bats is critical with the current global mass vaccination campaign against this virus.
新冠疫情的源头尚不清楚，但认为 SARS-CoV-2 的天然宿主可能是亚洲马蹄蝠（菊头蝠科）。我们从英国马蹄蝠（菊头蝠科）中鉴定并测序了一种新型 SARS-CoV-2（RhGB01），其分布范围在菊头蝠科的最西端。我们的研究结果扩展了 SARS-CoV-2 的地理和物种分布范围，并表明它们存在于整个马蹄蝠分布区。在刺突蛋白受体结合域中，但不包括受体结合基序，RhGB01 与 SARS-CoV-2 和 SARS-CoV 的氨基酸同源性分别为 77%和 81%。尽管 RhGB01 似乎不具有 hACE2 结合能力，因此在没有突变的情况下不太可能具有人畜共患病性，但 RhGB01 为 SARS-CoV-2 和其他 SARS-CoV-2 同源重组提供了机会。我们的研究结果表明，SARS-CoV-2 及其与中间宿主共同感染重组的自然分布被低估了。随着当前全球针对这种病毒的大规模疫苗接种运动，防止 SARS-CoV-2 传播到蝙蝠至关重要。
