The Miniopterus bat is a bent-winged bat found throughout Asia and the Middle East. Isolates of Miniopterus Bat CoV-1 have not been found in humans. Bat-CoV-1A and 1B have been also isolated from Miniopterus magnater and Miniopterus pusillus in Hong Kong. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these group 1 bat coronaviruses have descended from a common ancestor. The four different but closely related group 1 alphacoronaviruses (bat-CoV 1A, 1B, HKU7 and HKU8), have been isolated from otherwise healthy bats which suggests that these viruses are well established in these species.[citation needed]
Transmission
Transmission of Miniopterus Bat CoV-1 within the species is believed to be through droplet-respiration from contaminates of saliva and excreta. There is also evidence of interspecies transmission of coronavirus among bats.[3]
Genome
All the Alpha and betacoronaviruses, Group 1 and Group 2, are derived from the bat gene pool. There are at least four different, but closely related, Alphacoronaviruses (bat-CoV 1A, 1B, HKU7 and HKU8) circulating in bent-winged bats. Coronaviruses in bats are descended from a common ancestor and have been evolving in bats over a long period of time.[4]
A significant percentage of newly emerging viruses are RNA viruses. It is believed this is due to the fact that RNA viruses have a much higher nucleotide mutation rate than DNA viruses.[5]
^Chu DK, Poon LL, Chan KH, Chen H, Guan Y, Yuen KY, Peiris JS. Coronaviruses in bent-winged bats (Miniopterus spp.). J Gen Virol. 2006 Sep;87(Pt 9):2461-6.
^Susanna K. P. Laua, Kenneth S. M. Lid, Alan K. L. Tsangd, Chung-Tong Sheke, Ming Wangf, et al. Recent Transmission of a Novel Alphacoronavirus, Bat Coronavirus HKU10, from Leschenault's Rousettes to Pomona Leaf-Nosed Bats: First Evidence of Interspecies Transmission of Coronavirus between Bats of Different Suborders.J. Virol. November 2012 vol. 86
^Chu DK, Peiris JS, Chen H, Guan Y, Poon LL. Genomic characterizations of bat coronaviruses (1A, 1B and HKU8) and evidence for co-infections in Miniopterus bats..J Gen Virol. 2008 May;89(Pt 5):1282-7. doi 10.1099/vir.0.83605-0.
^Chu, David K.W., Peiris, J.S. Malik, and Poon, Leo, L.M. Novel Coronaviruses and Astroviruses in Bats. Virologica Sinica. April 2009, 24(2): 100-104.
External links
[1] (World Health Organization, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, supplement on coronavirus)