title: Co-circulation of three camel coronavirus species and recombination of MERS-CoVs in Saudi Arabia.
abstract: Outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) raise questions about the prevalence and evolution of the MERS coronavirus (CoV) in its animal reservoir. Our surveillance in Saudi Arabia in 2014 and 2015 showed that viruses of the MERS-CoV species and a human CoV 229E-related lineage co-circulated at high prevalence, with frequent co-infections in the upper respiratory tract of dromedary camels. viruses of the betacoronavirus 1 species, we found that dromedary camels share three CoV species with humans. Several MERS-CoV lineages were present in camels, including a recombinant lineage that has been dominant since December 2014 and that subsequently led to the human outbreaks in 2015. Camels therefore serve as an important reservoir for the maintenance and diversification of the MERS-CoVs and are the source of human infections with this virus.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Jamal S M
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sabir
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China. Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors.forename: Tommy T-Y
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Department of Nucleic Acids Research, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications, Borg El-Arab, Post Office Box 21934, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors.forename: Yongyi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Microbial Genetics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Division, National Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Salah E M
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Abo-Aba
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Muhammd I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Qureshi
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Microbial Genetics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Division, National Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abu-Zeid
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China. Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Khiyami
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Njud S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Alharbi
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Nahid H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Hajrah
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Meshaal J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sabir
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed H Z
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Mutwakil
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Saleh A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kabli
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Faten A S
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Alsulaimany
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdullah Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Obaid
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Boping
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Biological Sciences and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Edward C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China. Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. zhuhch@hku.hk yguan@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Huachen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China. Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. zhuhch@hku.hk yguan@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002162:Camelus / Q000821:virology*; D060085:Coinfection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology*; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D065207:Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology