A Bat-Derived Putative Cross-Family Recombinant Coronavirus with a Reovirus Gene.
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012 has generated enormous interest in the biodiversity, genomics and cross-species transmission potential of coronaviruses, especially those from bats, the second most speciose order of mammals. Herein, we identified a novel coronavirus, provisionally designated Rousettus bat coronavirus GCCDC1 (Ro-BatCoV GCCDC1), in the rectal swab samples of Rousettus leschenaulti bats by using pan-coronavirus RT-PCR and next-generation sequencing. Although the virus is similar to Rousettus bat coronavirus HKU9 (Ro-BatCoV HKU9) in genome characteristics, it is sufficiently distinct to be classified as a new species according to the criteria defined by the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). More striking was that Ro-BatCoV GCCDC1 contained a unique gene integrated into the 3'-end of the genome that has no homologs in any known coronavirus, but which sequence and phylogeny analyses indicated most likely originated from the p10 gene of a bat orthoreovirus. Subgenomic mRNA and cellular-level observations demonstrated that the p10 gene is functional and induces the formation of cell syncytia. Therefore, here we report a putative heterologous inter-family recombination event between a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus and a double-stranded segmented RNA virus, providing insights into the fundamental mechanisms of viral evolution.
Can-Ping Huang, William J. Liu, Wen Xu, Tao Jin, Yingze Zhao, Jingdong Song, Yi Shi, Wei Ji, Hao Jia, Yongming Zhou, Honghua Wen, Honglan Zhao, Huaxing Liu, Hong Li, Qihui Wang, Ying Wu, Liang Wang, Di Liu, Guang Liu, Hongjie Yu, Edward C. Holmes, Lin Lu, George F. Gao
Biology (General), Immunologic diseases. Allergy