title: Diversity of coronavirus in bats from Eastern Thailand.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bats are reservoirs for a diverse range of coronaviruses (CoVs), including those closely related to human pathogens such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) CoV and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome CoV. There are approximately 139 bat species reported to date in Thailand, of which two are endemic species. Due to the zoonotic potential of CoVs, standardized surveillance efforts to characterize viral diversity in wildlife are imperative.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 626 bats from 19 different bat species were individually sampled from 5 provinces in Eastern Thailand between 2008 and 2013 (84 fecal and 542 rectal swabs). Samples collected (either fresh feces or rectal swabs) were placed directly into RNA stabilization reagent, transported on ice within 24 hours and preserved at -80°C until further analysis. CoV RNA was detected in 47 specimens (7.6%), from 13 different bat species, using broadly reactive consensus PCR primers targeting the RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase gene designed to detect all CoVs. Thirty seven alphacoronaviruses, nine lineage D betacoronaviruses, and one lineage B betacoronavirus (SARS-CoV related) were identified. Six new bat CoV reservoirs were identified in our study, namely Cynopterus sphinx, Taphozous melanopogon, Hipposideros lekaguli, Rhinolophus shameli, Scotophilus heathii and Megaderma lyra.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CoVs from the same genetic lineage were found in different bat species roosting in similar or different locations. These data suggest that bat CoV lineages are not strictly concordant with their hosts. Our phylogenetic data indicates high diversity and a complex ecology of CoVs in bats sampled from specific areas in eastern regions of Thailand. Further characterization of additional CoV genes may be useful to better describe the CoV divergence.
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. spwa@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Supaporn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wacharapluesadee
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. prateepd@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Prateep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Duengkae
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. wava_38@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Apaporn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodpan
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. thongchai_ae@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Thongchai
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaewpom
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand. lotterwildlifevet@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Patarapol
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maneeorn
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand. kbudsabong@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Budsabong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kanchanasaka
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. sangchai59@hotmail.com.|Inter-Department Program of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. sangchai59@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Sangchai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yingsakmongkon
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. n.sittidetboripat@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nuntaporn
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sittidetboripat
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand. poom_forest@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Chaiyaporn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chareesaen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. rdispk@ku.ac.th.
authors.forename: Nathawat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Khlangsap
authors.affiliation: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand. iamapisit@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Apisit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pidthong
authors.affiliation: Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand. kumron57@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kumron
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leadprathom
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. siriporn.ghai@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Siriporn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghai
authors.affiliation: EcoHealth Alliance, New York, USA. epstein@ecohealthalliance.org.
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.affiliation: EcoHealth Alliance, New York, USA. daszak@ecohealthalliance.org.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Daszak
authors.affiliation: EcoHealth Alliance, New York, USA. olival@ecohealthalliance.org.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Olival
authors.affiliation: Naval Medical Research Center-Asia, Singapore, Singapore. patricknhrc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. mvcallahan@mgh.harvard.edu.|Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. mvcallahan@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Michael V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Callahan
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. fmedthm@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Thiravat
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hemachudha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D013785:Thailand