Dataset Information

Wide Diversity of Coronaviruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bat Species: A Pilot Study in Guinea, West Africa.

ABSTRACT: Zoonoses can constitute a threat for public health that can have a global importance, as seen with the current COVID-19 pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV2). Bats have been recognized as an important reservoir of zoonotic coronaviruses (CoVs). In West Africa, where there is a high diversity of bat species, little is known on the circulation of CoVs in these hosts, especially at the interface with human populations. In this study, in Guinea, we tested a total of 319 bats belonging to 14 genera and six families of insectivorous and frugivorous bats across the country, for the presence of coronaviruses. We found CoVs in 35 (11%) of the tested bats-in three insectivorous bat species and five fruit bat species that were mostly captured close to human habitat. Positivity rates varied from 5.7% to 100%, depending on bat species. A wide diversity of alpha and beta coronaviruses was found across the country, including three sequences belonging to SarbeCoVs and MerbeCoVs subgenera known to harbor highly pathogenic human coronaviruses. Our findings suggest that CoVs are widely spread in West Africa and their circulation should be assessed to evaluate the risk of exposure of potential zoonotic CoVs to humans.

SUBMITTER: Lacroix A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7472279 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Wide Diversity of Coronaviruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bat Species: A Pilot Study in Guinea, West Africa.

Lacroix Audrey A Vidal Nicole N Keita Alpha K AK Thaurignac Guillaume G Esteban Amandine A De Nys Hélène H Diallo Ramadan R Toure Abdoulaye A Goumou Souana S Soumah Abdoul Karim AK Povogui Moriba M Koivogui Joel J Monemou Jean-Louis JL Raulino Raisa R Nkuba Antoine A Foulongne Vincent V Delaporte Eric E Ayouba Ahidjo A Peeters Martine M

Viruses 20200805 8

Zoonoses can constitute a threat for public health that can have a global importance, as seen with the current COVID-19 pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV2). Bats have been recognized as an important reservoir of zoonotic coronaviruses (CoVs). In West Africa, where there is a high diversity of bat species, little is known on the circulation of CoVs in these hosts, especially at the interface with human populations. In this study, in Guinea, we tested a total of 3 ...[more]

PMID: 32764506

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Project description:Mammalian olfactory receptor genes (ORs) are a diverse family of genes encoding proteins that directly interact with environmental chemical cues. ORs evolve via gene duplication in a birth-death fashion, neofunctionalizing and pseudogenizing over time. Olfaction is a primary sense used for food detection in plant-visiting bats, but the relationship between dietary specialization and OR repertoire diversity is unclear. Within neotropical Leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae), many lineages are plant specialists, and some have a distinct OR repertoire compared to insectivorous species. Yet, whether specialization on particular plant genera is associated with the evolution of specialized, less diverse OR repertoires has never been tested. Using targeted sequence capture, we sequenced the OR repertoires of three sympatric species of short-tailed fruit bats (Carollia), which vary in their degree of specialization on the fruits of Piper plants. We characterized orthologous vs duplicated receptors among Carollia species, and explored the diversity and redundancy of the receptor gene repertoire. At the species level, the most dedicated Piper specialist, Carollia castanea, had lower OR diversity compared to the two generalists (C. sowelli and C. perspicillata), but we discovered a few unique sets of ORs within C. castanea with high redundancy of similar gene duplicates. These unique receptors potentially enable C. castanea to detect Piper fruit odorants better than its two congeners. Carollia perspicillata, the species with the most generalist diet, had a higher diversity of intact receptors, suggesting the ability to detect a wider range of odorant molecules. Variation among ORs may be a factor in the coexistence of these sympatric species, facilitating the exploitation of different plant resources. Our study sheds light on how gene duplication and changes in OR diversity may play a role in dietary adaptations and underlie ecological interactions between bats and plants.

Dataset Information

Wide Diversity of Coronaviruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bat Species: A Pilot Study in Guinea, West Africa.

Publications

Wide Diversity of Coronaviruses in Frugivorous and Insectivorous Bat Species: A Pilot Study in Guinea, West Africa.

Similar Datasets

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