A sarbecovirus found in Russian bats uses human ACE2

Abstract

ABSTRACTSpillover of sarbecoviruses from animals to humans resulted in outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS-CoVs and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to identify the origins of SARS-CoV-1 and -2 has resulted in the discovery of numerous animal sarbecoviruses – the majority of which are only distantly related to known human pathogens and do not infect human cells. The receptor binding domain (RBD) on sarbecoviruses engages receptor molecules on the host cell and mediates cell invasion. Here, we tested the receptor tropism for RBDs from two sarbecoviruses found in Russian horseshoe bats to screen cell entry. While these two viruses are in a viral lineage distinct from SARS-CoV-1 and -2, one virus was capable of using human ACE2 to facilitate cell entry. Our findings demonstrate that sarbecoviruses circulating in wildlife outside of Asia also exhibit compatibility with human ACE2 and should be taken into consideration for future universal sarbecovirus vaccine candidates.