Identification and Characterization of a Novel Alpaca Respiratory Coronavirus Most Closely Related to the Human Coronavirus 229E

Beate Crossley,Sharon Hietala,Richard Mock,Scott Callison

doi:10.3390/v4123689

Beate Crossley, Sharon Hietala + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/v4123689

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Journal: Viruses	Publication Date: Dec 12, 2012
Citations: 101	License type: CC BY 3.0

Affiliation: West Health, University of California, Davis

Abstract

In 2007, a novel coronavirus associated with an acute respiratory disease in alpacas (Alpaca Coronavirus, ACoV) was isolated. Full-length genomic sequencing of the ACoV demonstrated the genome to be consistent with other Alphacoronaviruses. A putative additional open-reading frame was identified between the nucleocapsid gene and 3'UTR. The ACoV was genetically most similar to the common human coronavirus (HCoV) 229E with 92.2% nucleotide identity over the entire genome. A comparison of spike gene sequences from ACoV and from HCoV-229E isolates recovered over a span of five decades showed the ACoV to be most similar to viruses isolated in the 1960’s to early 1980’s. The true origin of the ACoV is unknown, however a common ancestor between the ACoV and HCoV-229E appears to have existed prior to the 1960’s, suggesting virus transmission, either as a zoonosis or anthroponosis, has occurred between alpacas and humans.

Highlights

The isolation of a novel coronavirus associated with an acute respiratory disease in alpacas
While coronaviruses have been well documented for decades as important respiratory and enteric pathogens of avian [3] and mammalian species [4], and coronavirus-like particles have been described in association with reptiles [5], there has been a notable increase in the number of new coronaviruses detected in recent years, with more than a dozen reported since the zoonotic SARS
JQ410000) is comparable to other coronaviruses in genome length (ACoV consists of 27,362 bases), the presence of a poly-A tail and an overall 38.5% G+C

Summary

Introduction

The isolation of a novel coronavirus associated with an acute respiratory disease in alpacas (AlpacaCoronavirus, ACoV) has previously been described [1]. The genotype classification differentiated the respiratory alpaca isolate from the CoV previously associated with New World camelids, a Betacoronavirus causing diarrhea and gastrointestinal disease [2]. While coronaviruses have been well documented for decades as important respiratory and enteric pathogens of avian [3] and mammalian species [4], and coronavirus-like particles have been described in association with reptiles [5], there has been a notable increase in the number of new coronaviruses detected in recent years, with more than a dozen reported since the zoonotic SARS virus, a Betacoronavirus, was identified in 2003 [6,7]. The apparent emergence of new coronaviruses is believed, in part, to be associated with their genetic mutability and resultant adaptability to new host species [8] combined with better diagnostic tools

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