Discovery of a rich gene pool of bat SARS-related coronaviruses provides new insights into the origin of SARS coronavirus

A large number of SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoV) have been detected in horseshoe bats since 2005 in different areas of China. However, these bat SARSr-CoVs show sequence differences from SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in different genes (S, ORF8, ORF3, etc) and are considered unlikely to represent the direct progenitor of SARS-CoV. Herein, we report the findings of our 5-year surveillance of SARSr-CoVs in a cave inhabited by multiple species of horseshoe bats in Yunnan Province, China. The full-length genomes of 11 newly discovered SARSr-CoV strains, together with our previous findings, reveals that the SARSr-CoVs circulating in this single location are highly diverse in the S gene, ORF3 and ORF8.…

• FF
  Foundation for the National Institutes of Health

  Award: NIAID R01AI110964
• US
  United States Agency for International Development
• NR
  National Research Foundation Singapore

  Award: NRF-CRP10-2012-05
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 31621061, 81290341, 81290341, 31621061
• CA
  Chinese Academy of Sciences

  Awards: XDPB0301, 31621061
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: R01AI110964, NIAID R01AI110964
• NI
  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

  Award: R01AI110964