Presence of Alphacoronavirus in Tree- and Crevice-Dwelling Bats from Portugal
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are RNA viruses capable of infecting a wide range of hosts, including mammals and birds, and have caused significant epidemics such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Bats, the second most diverse mammalian order, are hosts for various CoVs due to their unique immune responses an...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10216/158030 https://doi.org/10.3390/v16030434 |
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ftunivporto:oai:repositorio-aberto.up.pt:10216/158030 2024-05-12T08:10:05+00:00 Presence of Alphacoronavirus in Tree- and Crevice-Dwelling Bats from Portugal Hemnani, M da Silva, PG Thompson, G Poeta, P Rebelo, H Mesquita, JR Instituto de Saúde Pública 2024 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10216/158030 https://doi.org/10.3390/v16030434 eng eng MDPI info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/2021.09380.BD/PT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB/04750/2020/PT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA/P/0064/2020/PT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP/00772/2020/PT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA/P/0059/2020/PT Viruses. 2024 Mar 12;16(3):434. doi:10.3390/v16030434. https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/16/3/434 1999-4915 https://hdl.handle.net/10216/158030 doi:10.3390/v16030434 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2024 ftunivporto https://doi.org/10.3390/v16030434 2024-04-17T14:17:38Z Coronaviruses (CoVs) are RNA viruses capable of infecting a wide range of hosts, including mammals and birds, and have caused significant epidemics such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Bats, the second most diverse mammalian order, are hosts for various CoVs due to their unique immune responses and ecological traits. This study investigates CoV prevalence in crevice- and tree-dwelling bats in Portugal, a country with limited prior research on bat CoVs. Using nested RT-PCR and sequencing, we screened 87 stool samples from bats, identifying one sample (1.15%) that was positive for Alphacoronavirus, belonging to Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed close genetic relationships with Alphacoronavirus strains from the same bat species in Europe. The low prevalence suggests habitat-specific differences in viral transmission, with cave-dwelling bats exhibiting higher CoV prevalence due to population density and behaviour. These findings underscore the necessity for sustained surveillance efforts aimed at comprehending CoV dynamics within bat populations, especially concerning the risk of spillover events and viral evolution. Vital to this understanding is the monitoring of bat migration patterns, which serves as a crucial tool for elucidating CoV ecology and epidemiology. Such efforts are essential for ongoing research endeavours aimed at mitigating the potential for future zoonotic disease outbreaks. Mahima Hemnani thanks Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) for the financial support of her PhD work under the Maria de Souza Scholarship, contract number 2021.09380.BD. This work was also funded by FCT, under the project numbers UIDB/04750/2020, LA/P/0064/2020, UIDP/00772/2020 (Doi:10.54499/UIDB/00772/2020), and LA/P/0059/2020. Article in Journal/Newspaper Pipistrellus pipistrellus Repositório Aberto da Universidade do Porto Viruses 16 3 434 |
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Open Polar |
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Repositório Aberto da Universidade do Porto |
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ftunivporto |
language |
English |
description |
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are RNA viruses capable of infecting a wide range of hosts, including mammals and birds, and have caused significant epidemics such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Bats, the second most diverse mammalian order, are hosts for various CoVs due to their unique immune responses and ecological traits. This study investigates CoV prevalence in crevice- and tree-dwelling bats in Portugal, a country with limited prior research on bat CoVs. Using nested RT-PCR and sequencing, we screened 87 stool samples from bats, identifying one sample (1.15%) that was positive for Alphacoronavirus, belonging to Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed close genetic relationships with Alphacoronavirus strains from the same bat species in Europe. The low prevalence suggests habitat-specific differences in viral transmission, with cave-dwelling bats exhibiting higher CoV prevalence due to population density and behaviour. These findings underscore the necessity for sustained surveillance efforts aimed at comprehending CoV dynamics within bat populations, especially concerning the risk of spillover events and viral evolution. Vital to this understanding is the monitoring of bat migration patterns, which serves as a crucial tool for elucidating CoV ecology and epidemiology. Such efforts are essential for ongoing research endeavours aimed at mitigating the potential for future zoonotic disease outbreaks. Mahima Hemnani thanks Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) for the financial support of her PhD work under the Maria de Souza Scholarship, contract number 2021.09380.BD. This work was also funded by FCT, under the project numbers UIDB/04750/2020, LA/P/0064/2020, UIDP/00772/2020 (Doi:10.54499/UIDB/00772/2020), and LA/P/0059/2020. |
author2 |
Instituto de Saúde Pública |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hemnani, M da Silva, PG Thompson, G Poeta, P Rebelo, H Mesquita, JR |
spellingShingle |
Hemnani, M da Silva, PG Thompson, G Poeta, P Rebelo, H Mesquita, JR Presence of Alphacoronavirus in Tree- and Crevice-Dwelling Bats from Portugal |
author_facet |
Hemnani, M da Silva, PG Thompson, G Poeta, P Rebelo, H Mesquita, JR |
author_sort |
Hemnani, M |
title |
Presence of Alphacoronavirus in Tree- and Crevice-Dwelling Bats from Portugal |
title_short |
Presence of Alphacoronavirus in Tree- and Crevice-Dwelling Bats from Portugal |
title_full |
Presence of Alphacoronavirus in Tree- and Crevice-Dwelling Bats from Portugal |
title_fullStr |
Presence of Alphacoronavirus in Tree- and Crevice-Dwelling Bats from Portugal |
title_full_unstemmed |
Presence of Alphacoronavirus in Tree- and Crevice-Dwelling Bats from Portugal |
title_sort |
presence of alphacoronavirus in tree- and crevice-dwelling bats from portugal |
publisher |
MDPI |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10216/158030 https://doi.org/10.3390/v16030434 |
genre |
Pipistrellus pipistrellus |
genre_facet |
Pipistrellus pipistrellus |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/2021.09380.BD/PT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDB/04750/2020/PT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA/P/0064/2020/PT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UIDP/00772/2020/PT info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/LA/P/0059/2020/PT Viruses. 2024 Mar 12;16(3):434. doi:10.3390/v16030434. https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/16/3/434 1999-4915 https://hdl.handle.net/10216/158030 doi:10.3390/v16030434 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/v16030434 |
container_title |
Viruses |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
434 |
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1798853469103194112 |