Distant relatives of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and close relatives of human coronavirus 229E in bats, Ghana.
We tested 12 bat species in Ghana for coronavirus (CoV) RNA. The virus prevalence in insectivorous bats (n = 123) was 9.76%. CoV was not detected in 212 fecal samples from Eidolon helvum fruit bats. Leaf-nosed bats pertaining to Hipposideros ruber by morphology had group 1 and group 2 CoVs. Virus concentrations were < or =45,000 copies/100 mg of bat feces. The diversified group 1 CoV shared a common ancestor with the human common cold virus hCoV-229E but not with hCoV-NL63, disputing hypotheses of common human descent. The most recent common ancestor of hCoV-229E and GhanaBt-CoVGrp1 existed in approximately 1686-1800 ad. The GhanaBt-CoVGrp2 shared an old ancestor (approximately 2,400 years) with the severe acute respiratory syndrome-like group of CoV.
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
Susanne
S
Pfefferle
Samuel
S
Oppong
Jan Felix
JF
Drexler
Florian
F
Gloza-Rausch
Anne
A
Ipsen
Antje
A
Seebens
Marcel A
MA
Müller
Augustina
A
Annan
Peter
P
Vallo
Yaw
Y
Adu-Sarkodie
Thomas F
TF
Kruppa
Christian
C
Drosten
D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D028941:Coronavirus 229E, Human / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D012367:RNA, Viral; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase