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Novel betacoronavirus in dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013.

ABSTRACT: In 2013, a novel betacoronavirus was identified in fecal samples from dromedaries in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Antibodies against the recombinant nucleocapsid protein of the virus, which we named dromedary camel coronavirus (DcCoV) UAE-HKU23, were detected in 52% of 59 dromedary serum samples tested. In an analysis of 3 complete DcCoV UAE-HKU23 genomes, we identified the virus as a betacoronavirus in lineage A1. The DcCoV UAE-HKU23 genome has G+C contents; a general preference for G/C in the third position of codons; a cleavage site for spike protein; and a membrane protein of similar length to that of other betacoronavirus A1 members, to which DcCoV UAE-HKU23 is phylogenetically closely related. Along with this coronavirus, viruses of at least 8 other families have been found to infect camels. Because camels have a close association with humans, continuous surveillance should be conducted to understand the potential for virus emergence in camels and for virus transmission to humans.

SUBMITTER: Woo PC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3966378 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is an emerging respiratory disease caused by the MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV). MERS has been endemic to Saudi Arabia since 2012. The reservoir of MERS-CoV is the dromedary camel, suggesting that MERS is primarily a zoonotic disease. MERS-CoV is common in dromedaries throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and East Africa as evidenced by neutralizing antibodies against MERS-CoV; however, human cases have remained limited to the Middle East. To better understand the cause of this difference, the virological properties of African camel MERS-CoV were analyzed based on the spike (S) protein in Ethiopia. Nasal swabs were collected from 258 young dromedaries (≤ 2 years old) in the Afar region of Ethiopia, of which 39 were positive for MERS-CoV, as confirmed by genetic tests. All positive tests were exclusive to the Amibara woreda region. Using next-generation sequencing, two full-length genomes of Amibara isolates were successfully decoded; both isolates belonged to the C2 clade based on phylogenetic analysis of full-length and S protein sequences. Recombinant EMC isolates of MERS-CoV, in which the S protein is replaced with those of Amibara isolates, were then generated to test the roles of these proteins in viral properties. Amibara S recombinants replicated more slowly in cultured cells than in EMC S recombinants. In neutralizing assays, Amibara S recombinants were neutralized by lower concentrations of sera from both Ethiopian dromedaries and EMC isolate (wild-type)-immunized mouse sera, relative to the EMC S recombinants, indicating that viruses coated in the Amibara S protein were easier to neutralize than the EMC S protein. Neutralization experiments performed using S1/S2 chimeric recombinants of the EMC and Amibara S proteins showed that the neutralization profile was dependent on the S1 region of the S protein. These results suggest that the slower viral replication and the ease of neutralization seen in the Ethiopian MERS-CoV are due to strain-specific differences in the S protein and may account for the absence of human MERS-CoV cases in Ethiopia.

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Novel betacoronavirus in dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013.

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