Evolutionary Relationships between Bat Coronaviruses and Their Hosts

Jie Cui,Shuyi Zhang,Zhihong Hu,Peter Daszak,Arnaud Fontanet,Gareth Jones,Hume E Field,Linfa Wang,Naijian Han,Guoping Zhao,Yi Guan,Zhengli Shi,Xianchun Tang,Gang Li,Daniel Streicker

doi:10.3201/eid1310.070448

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that bats are the natural reservoir of a range of coronaviruses (CoVs), and that rhinolophid bats harbor viruses closely related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) CoV, which caused an outbreak of respiratory illness in humans during 2002-2003. We examined the evolutionary relationships between bat CoVs and their hosts by using sequence data of the virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene and the bat cytochrome b gene. Phylogenetic analyses showed multiple incongruent associations between the phylogenies of rhinolophid bats and their CoVs, which suggested that host shifts have occurred in the recent evolutionary history of this group. These shifts may be due to either virus biologic traits or host behavioral traits. This finding has implications for the emergence of SARS and for the potential future emergence of SARS-CoVs or related viruses.

Highlights

Recent studies have suggested that bats are the natural reservoir of a range of coronaviruses (CoVs), and that rhinolophid bats harbor viruses closely related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) CoV, which caused an outbreak of respiratory illness in humans during 2002– 2003
Species-specific host restriction was found for CoVs in 4 of 7 bats species (Myotis ricketti, M. magnater, P. abramus, and T. pachypus) sampled from >1 geographic location, and these clustered with high Bayesian posterior probability
One T. pachypus was infected by a virus that clustered with moderate statistical support (PP = 0.91) within the larger clade associated with P. abramus, which indicated a potential interspecies transmission event or recent evolutionary host shift (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Recent studies have suggested that bats are the natural reservoir of a range of coronaviruses (CoVs), and that rhinolophid bats harbor viruses closely related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) CoV, which caused an outbreak of respiratory illness in humans during 2002– 2003. Phylogenetic analyses showed multiple incongruent associations between the phylogenies of rhinolophid bats and their CoVs, which suggested that host shifts have occurred in the recent evolutionary history of this group. These shifts may be due to either virus biologic traits or host behavioral traits. Studies in species other than bats have examined hostvirus phylogeny and identified coevolutionary relationships [13,14,15,16] or incongruous phylogenetic patterns [17] These findings suggest recent pathogen host shifts (defined as interspecies transmission followed by establishment and long-term persistence in the new host species [18]). We discuss host behavioral traits and viral traits that might have given rise to these patterns and comment on the implications of our findings for the emergence of SARS-CoV

Methods

Results

Conclusion