Identification and Genetic Characterization of MERS-Related Coronavirus Isolated from Nathusius’ Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii) near Zvenigorod (Moscow Region, Russia)

• Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Main Authors: Anna S. Speranskaya, Ilia V. Artiushin, Andrei E. Samoilov, Elena V. Korneenko, Kirill V. Khabudaev, Elena N. Ilina, Alexander P. Yusefovich, Marina V. Safonova, Anna S. Dolgova, Anna S. Gladkikh, Vladimir G. Dedkov, Peter Daszak
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
• Subjects: bat-CoV; MERS-related coronaviruses; Pipistrellus nathusii; bats; hedgehogs; humans; camels; DPP4; spike protein; molecular docking
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043702

Being diverse and widely distributed globally, bats are a known reservoir of a series of emerging zoonotic viruses. We studied fecal viromes of twenty-six bats captured in 2015 in the Moscow Region and found 13 of 26 (50%) samples to be coronavirus positive. Of P. nathusii (the Nathusius’ pipistrelle), 3 of 6 samples were carriers of a novel MERS-related betacoronavirus. We sequenced and assembled the complete genome of this betacoronavirus and named it MOW-BatCoV strain 15-22. Whole genome phylogenetic analysis suggests that MOW-BatCoV/15-22 falls into a distinct subclade closely related to human and camel MERS-CoV. Unexpectedly, the phylogenetic analysis of the novel MOW-BatCoV/15-22 spike gene showed the closest similarity to CoVs from Erinaceus europaeus (European hedgehog). We suppose MOW-BatCoV could have arisen as a result of recombination between ancestral viruses of bats and hedgehogs. Molecular docking analysis of MOW-BatCoV/15-22 spike glycoprotein binding to DPP4 receptors of different mammals predicted the highest binding ability with DPP4 of the Myotis brandtii bat (docking score −320.15) and the E. europaeus (docking score –294.51). Hedgehogs are widely kept as pets and are commonly found in areas of human habitation. As this novel bat-CoV is likely capable of infecting hedgehogs, we suggest hedgehogs can act as intermediate hosts between bats and humans for other bat-CoVs.