Detection of Coronaviruses in Bats of Various Species in Italy
Open Access
- 30 October 2013
- Vol. 5 (11) , 2679-2689
- https://doi.org/10.3390/v5112679
Abstract
Bats are natural reservoirs for many mammalian coronaviruses, which have received renewed interest after the discovery of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) CoV in humans. This study describes the identification and molecular characterization of alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses in bats in Italy, from 2010 to 2012. Sixty-nine faecal samples and 126 carcasses were tested using pan-coronavirus RT-PCR. Coronavirus RNAs were detected in seven faecal samples and nine carcasses. A phylogenetic analysis of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase sequence fragments aided in identifying two alphacoronaviruses from Kuhl’s pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii), three clade 2b betacoronaviruses from lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros), and 10 clade 2c betacoronaviruses from Kuhl’s pipistrelle, common noctule (Nyctalus noctula), and Savi’s pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii). This study fills a substantive gap in the knowledge on bat-CoV ecology in Italy, and extends the current knowledge on clade 2c betacoronaviruses with new sequences obtained from bats that have not been previously described as hosts of these viruses.Keywords
This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
- Genetic Characterization of Betacoronavirus Lineage C Viruses in Bats Reveals Marked Sequence Divergence in the Spike Protein of Pipistrellus Bat Coronavirus HKU5 in Japanese Pipistrelle: Implications for the Origin of the Novel Middle East Respiratory Syndrome CoronavirusJournal of Virology, 2013
- Isolation of a Novel Coronavirus from a Man with Pneumonia in Saudi ArabiaNew England Journal of Medicine, 2012
- A Real-Time PCR Assay for Bat SARS-Like Coronavirus Detection and Its Application to Italian Greater Horseshoe Bat Faecal Sample SurveysThe Scientific World Journal, 2012
- Genomic Characterization of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Related Coronavirus in European Bats and Classification of Coronaviruses Based on Partial RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase Gene SequencesJournal of Virology, 2010
- Circulation of Group 2 Coronaviruses in a Bat Species Common to Urban Areas in Western EuropeVector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2010
- Distant Relatives of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus and Close Relatives of Human Coronavirus 229E in Bats, GhanaEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2009
- Prevalence and Genetic Diversity of Coronaviruses in Bats from ChinaJournal of Virology, 2006
- Bats Are Natural Reservoirs of SARS-Like CoronavirusesScience, 2005
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in Chinese horseshoe batsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2005
- Identification of a Novel Coronavirus in BatsJournal of Virology, 2005