First Report of Alphacoronavirus Circulating in Cavernicolous Bats from Portugal

Mahima Hemnani; Priscilla Gomes da Silva; Gertrude Thompson; Patricia Poeta; Hugo Rebelo; João R Mesquita

doi:10.3390/v15071521

First Report of Alphacoronavirus Circulating in Cavernicolous Bats from Portugal

Viruses. 2023 Jul 8;15(7):1521. doi: 10.3390/v15071521.

Authors

Mahima Hemnani¹, Priscilla Gomes da Silva^{1

2

3

4

5}, Gertrude Thompson^{1

6}, Patricia Poeta^{7

8

9

10}, Hugo Rebelo^{6

11}, João R Mesquita^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Porto University, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
² Epidemiology Research Unit (EPIunit), Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal.
³ Laboratório Para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
⁴ LEPABE-Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnotlogy and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal.
⁵ ALiCE-Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal.
⁶ Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal.
⁷ Microbiology and Antibiotic Resistance Team (MicroART), Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
⁸ Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE), University NOVA of Lisbon, 1099-085 Caparica, Portugal.
⁹ Veterinary and Animal Research Centre (CECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
¹⁰ Veterinary and Animal Research Centre, Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Science (AL4AnimalS), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
¹¹ ESS, Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal.

Abstract

The emergence of novel coronaviruses (CoVs) has emphasized the need to understand their diversity and distribution in animal populations. Bats have been identified as crucial reservoirs for CoVs, and they are found in various bat species worldwide. In this study, we investigated the presence of CoVs of four cavernicolous bats in six locations in the centre and south of Portugal. We collected faeces, anal, and buccal swab samples, as well as air samples from the locations using a Coriolis air sampler. Our results indicate that CoVs were more readily detected in faecal samples compared to anal and buccal swab samples. No CoVs were detected in the air samples. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the detected viruses belong to the Alphacoronavirus genus. This study represents the first report of Alphacoronaviruses circulating in bats in Portugal and highlights the importance of continuous surveillance for novel CoVs in bat populations globally. Ongoing surveillance for CoVs in bat populations is essential as they are a vital source of these viruses. It is crucial to understand the ecological relationships between animals, humans, and the environment to prevent and control the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases. Further ecological studies are needed to investigate the factors contributing to the emergence and transmission of zoonotic viruses.

Keywords: Alphacoronavirus; Portugal; cavernicolous bats; coronavirus.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alphacoronavirus* / genetics
Animals
Chiroptera*
Coronavirus Infections*
Genome, Viral
Humans
Phylogeny
Portugal

Grants and funding

Mahima Hemnani thanks Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) for the financial support of her PhD work under the Maria de Souza scholarship contract number 2021.09380.BD. This work was also funded by FCT, under the projects UIDB/04750/2020, LA/P/0064/2020, UIDP/00772/2020 and LA/P/0059/2020.