- The new coronavirus that COVID-19 causes is a product of different coronaviruses that recombine into animal species.
- A new study suggests that hundreds of animal species may harbor multiple types of coronavirus, meaning recombination events could be more likely than previously thought.
- The authors noted that their findings could help improve surveillance programs to mitigate the risks associated with a new coronavirus future.
A new study reveals hundreds of mammalian species that could contract multiple coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, and therefore become sources of new coronaviruses. Published in Nature Communications, the research suggests that new coronaviruses could emerge from many more animal species than scientists to date.
Coronaviruses comprise a large family of viruses. Humans are known to contract only seven coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, which can cause serious illness or death. But coronaviruses can circulate more widely in the animal kingdom, and within that, scientists have identified hundreds of unique strains.
Some animals can become infected with multiple coronaviruses at once. When this happens, the genes of the different viruses can be combined and replicated, creating a new coronavirus. This natural process is called recombination and is what produced SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
So in which animal species could the new coronavirus originate through recombination?
Wardeh et al.
Planned hosts are grouped in order (inner circle). The middle circle shows the probability of association between the host and SARS-CoV-2 (the gray scale indicates predicted associations with probabilities between 0.5 and ≤ 0.75. The red scale indicates predicted associations with a probability ranging from 0.75 i <0.9821. Blue to purple scale present indicates associations with probability ≥ 0.9821). Yellow bars represent number of coronaviruses (species or strains) observed to be found in each host. Blue stacked bars represent other coronaviruses predicted to be found in each host by our model. Predicted coronaviruses per host are grouped by prediction probability into three categories (from inside to outside): ≥0.9821, >0.75 a <0.9821 and >0.5 to ≤ 0.75.
To address this, the researchers behind the recent study created a computer model to predict which species are most likely to be “reservoirs” of coronaviruses. Using data from the GenBank database, National Institutes of Health, the team compared 411 coronaviruses with 876 mammal species known to contract coronaviruses.
The model predicted that each coronavirus species can infect, on average, more than 12 types of mammal hosts. Meanwhile, the results suggested that each host mammal may contract approximately five different types of coronavirus.
In terms of recombination, some mammal species pose excessive threats. The study noted that the domestic pig presents a high risk because it is known to harbor many diverse coronaviruses.
“Given the large number of predicted viral associations presented here, the pig’s close association with humans, its known reservoir status for many other zoonotic viruses, and its involvement in the genetic recombination of some of these viruses, the pig is expected to be one of the main candidates are a major host of recombination, “the authors wrote.
Credit: Pixabay
The study also identified species in which SARS-CoV-2 could be combined with other coronaviruses. These include the Lesser Asian Yellow Bat, the Common Hedgehog, the European Rabbit, the Chimpanzees, the African Green Monkey, and the domestic cats (which are already known to have SARS-CoV-2, although there is no evidence that the cats or other pets can spread the new coronavirus to humans).
Also on this list was the dromedary camel, a “known host of multiple coronaviruses and the major route of transmission of MERS-CoV to humans.” It would be especially worrying if MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 were recombined, considering that the former is very deadly and the latter is highly contagious.
Improved surveillance programs
However, many factors need to be combined for coronaviruses to fuse and generate a new coronavirus, and the fact that an animal is vulnerable to multiple viruses does not mean that these viruses recombine. But the team behind the study noted that scientists are likely to underestimate the number of animals that could generate new coronaviruses and that the results may help inform endangered species surveillance programs.
“This information could help inform prevention and mitigation strategies and provide a vital early warning system for future new coronaviruses,” the authors wrote.
Articles from your site
Articles related to the web