Coronaviruses (<i>Coronaviridae</i>) of bats in the northern Caucasus and south of western Siberia

Abstract

Introduction. Bats are natural reservoirs of coronaviruses (Coronaviridae), which have caused three outbreaks of human disease SARS, MERS and COVID-19 or SARS-2 over the past decade. The purpose of the work is to study the diversity of coronaviruses among bats inhabiting the foothills and mountainous areas of the Republics of Dagestan, Altai and the Kemerovo region. Materials and methods. Samples of bat oral swabs and feces were tested for the presence of coronavirus RNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results. It has been shown that the greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), inhabiting the Republic of Dagestan, are carriers of two different coronaviruses. One of the two coronaviruses is a member of the Sarbecovius subgenus of the Betacoronavirus genus, which includes the causative agents of SARS and COVID-19. The second coronavirus is assigned to the Decacovirus subgenus of the Alphacoronavirus genus and is most similar to viruses identified among Rhinolophus spp. from European and Middle Eastern countries. In the Altai Republic and Kemerovo region, coronaviruses belonging to the genus Alphacoronavirus, subgenus Pedacovirus, were found in the smooth-nosed bats: Ikonnikov`s bat (Myotis ikonnikovi) and the eastern bat (Myotis petax). The virus from the Altai Republic from M. ikonnikovi is close to viruses from Japan and Korea, as well as viruses from Myotis spp. from European countries. The virus from the Kemerovo region from M. petax groups with coronaviruses from Myotis spp. from Asian countries and is significantly different from coronaviruses previously discovered in the same natural host.