Circulation of SARS-CoV–Related Coronaviruses and Alphacoronaviruses in Bats from Croatia
Bats are natural hosts of various coronaviruses (CoVs), including human CoVs, via an assumed direct zoonotic spillover or intermediate animal host. The present study aimed to investigate the circulation of CoVs in a bat colony in the Mediterranean region of Croatia. Guano and individual droppings fr...
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/4/959 |
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author | Dragan Brnić Ivana Lojkić Nina Krešić Vida Zrnčić Lea Ružanović Tina Mikuletič Martin Bosilj Andrej Steyer Tomislav Keros Boris Habrun Lorena Jemeršić |
author_facet | Dragan Brnić Ivana Lojkić Nina Krešić Vida Zrnčić Lea Ružanović Tina Mikuletič Martin Bosilj Andrej Steyer Tomislav Keros Boris Habrun Lorena Jemeršić |
author_sort | Dragan Brnić |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Bats are natural hosts of various coronaviruses (CoVs), including human CoVs, via an assumed direct zoonotic spillover or intermediate animal host. The present study aimed to investigate the circulation of CoVs in a bat colony in the Mediterranean region of Croatia. Guano and individual droppings from four bat species were sampled and tested with the E-gene sarbecovirus RT-qPCR, the pan-CoV semi-nested RT-PCR targeting the RdRp gene and NGS. Furthermore, bat blood samples were investigated for the presence of sarbecovirus-specific antibodies with the surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT). The initial testing showed E-gene Sarebeco RT-qPCR reactivity in 26% of guano samples while the bat droppings tested negative. The application of RdRp semi-nested RT-PCR and NGS revealed the circulation of bat alpha- and betaCoVs. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the clustering of betaCoV sequence with SARS-CoV–related bat sarbecoviruses and alpha-CoV sequences with representatives of the <i>Minunacovirus</i> subgenus. The results of sVNT show that 29% of bat sera originated from all four species that tested positive. Our results are the first evidence of the circulation of SARS-CoV–related coronaviruses in bats from Croatia. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:43:09Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-021e72f849fa4e89b918e57f6f78afff |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2076-2607 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:43:09Z |
publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Microorganisms |
spelling | doaj.art-021e72f849fa4e89b918e57f6f78afff2023-11-17T20:33:00ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072023-04-0111495910.3390/microorganisms11040959Circulation of SARS-CoV–Related Coronaviruses and Alphacoronaviruses in Bats from CroatiaDragan Brnić0Ivana Lojkić1Nina Krešić2Vida Zrnčić3Lea Ružanović4Tina Mikuletič5Martin Bosilj6Andrej Steyer7Tomislav Keros8Boris Habrun9Lorena Jemeršić10Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaCroatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaCroatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaCroatian Biospeleological Society, Demetrova 1, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaCroatian Biospeleological Society, Demetrova 1, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaInstitute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška cesta 4, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaNational Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, Grablovičeva 44, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaNational Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, Grablovičeva 44, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaCroatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaCroatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaCroatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaBats are natural hosts of various coronaviruses (CoVs), including human CoVs, via an assumed direct zoonotic spillover or intermediate animal host. The present study aimed to investigate the circulation of CoVs in a bat colony in the Mediterranean region of Croatia. Guano and individual droppings from four bat species were sampled and tested with the E-gene sarbecovirus RT-qPCR, the pan-CoV semi-nested RT-PCR targeting the RdRp gene and NGS. Furthermore, bat blood samples were investigated for the presence of sarbecovirus-specific antibodies with the surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT). The initial testing showed E-gene Sarebeco RT-qPCR reactivity in 26% of guano samples while the bat droppings tested negative. The application of RdRp semi-nested RT-PCR and NGS revealed the circulation of bat alpha- and betaCoVs. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the clustering of betaCoV sequence with SARS-CoV–related bat sarbecoviruses and alpha-CoV sequences with representatives of the <i>Minunacovirus</i> subgenus. The results of sVNT show that 29% of bat sera originated from all four species that tested positive. Our results are the first evidence of the circulation of SARS-CoV–related coronaviruses in bats from Croatia.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/4/959SARS-CoVbatsarbecovirusRT-qPCRNGSsVNT |
spellingShingle | Dragan Brnić Ivana Lojkić Nina Krešić Vida Zrnčić Lea Ružanović Tina Mikuletič Martin Bosilj Andrej Steyer Tomislav Keros Boris Habrun Lorena Jemeršić Circulation of SARS-CoV–Related Coronaviruses and Alphacoronaviruses in Bats from Croatia Microorganisms SARS-CoV bat sarbecovirus RT-qPCR NGS sVNT |
title | Circulation of SARS-CoV–Related Coronaviruses and Alphacoronaviruses in Bats from Croatia |
title_full | Circulation of SARS-CoV–Related Coronaviruses and Alphacoronaviruses in Bats from Croatia |
title_fullStr | Circulation of SARS-CoV–Related Coronaviruses and Alphacoronaviruses in Bats from Croatia |
title_full_unstemmed | Circulation of SARS-CoV–Related Coronaviruses and Alphacoronaviruses in Bats from Croatia |
title_short | Circulation of SARS-CoV–Related Coronaviruses and Alphacoronaviruses in Bats from Croatia |
title_sort | circulation of sars cov related coronaviruses and alphacoronaviruses in bats from croatia |
topic | SARS-CoV bat sarbecovirus RT-qPCR NGS sVNT |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/4/959 |
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