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. 2021 Jan 19;12(1):e02755-20.
doi: 10.1128/mBio.02755-20.

At Least Seven Distinct Rotavirus Genotype Constellations in Bats with Evidence of Reassortment and Zoonotic Transmissions

Ceren Simsek #  1 , Victor Max Corman #  2   3 , Hermann Ulrich Everling #  4 , Alexander N Lukashev  5 , Andrea Rasche  2   3 , Gael Darren Maganga  6   7 , Tabea Binger  8 , Daan Jansen  1 , Leen Beller  1 , Ward Deboutte  1 , Florian Gloza-Rausch  9 , Antje Seebens-Hoyer  9 , Stoian Yordanov  10 , Augustina Sylverken  8   11 , Samuel Oppong  11 , Yaw Adu Sarkodie  11 , Peter Vallo  12 , Eric M Leroy  13 , Mathieu Bourgarel  14   15 , Kwe Claude Yinda  1 , Marc Van Ranst  1 , Christian Drosten  2   3 , Jan Felix Drexler  16   3 , Jelle Matthijnssens  17
Affiliations

At Least Seven Distinct Rotavirus Genotype Constellations in Bats with Evidence of Reassortment and Zoonotic Transmissions

Ceren Simsek et al. mBio. .

Abstract

Bats host many viruses pathogenic to humans, and increasing evidence suggests that rotavirus A (RVA) also belongs to this list. Rotaviruses cause diarrheal disease in many mammals and birds, and their segmented genomes allow them to reassort and increase their genetic diversity. Eighteen out of 2,142 bat fecal samples (0.8%) collected from Europe, Central America, and Africa were PCR-positive for RVA, and 11 of those were fully characterized using viral metagenomics. Upon contrasting their genomes with publicly available data, at least 7 distinct bat RVA genotype constellations (GCs) were identified, which included evidence of reassortments and 6 novel genotypes. Some of these constellations are spread across the world, whereas others appear to be geographically restricted. Our analyses also suggest that several unusual human and equine RVA strains might be of bat RVA origin, based on their phylogenetic clustering, despite various levels of nucleotide sequence identities between them. Although SA11 is one of the most widely used reference strains for RVA research and forms the backbone of a reverse genetics system, its origin remained enigmatic. Remarkably, the majority of the genotypes of SA11-like strains were shared with Gabonese bat RVAs, suggesting a potential common origin. Overall, our findings suggest an underexplored genetic diversity of RVAs in bats, which is likely only the tip of the iceberg. Increasing contact between humans and bat wildlife will further increase the zoonosis risk, which warrants closer attention to these viruses.IMPORTANCE The increased research on bat coronaviruses after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) allowed the very rapid identification of SARS-CoV-2. This is an excellent example of the importance of knowing viruses harbored by wildlife in general, and bats in particular, for global preparedness against emerging viral pathogens. The current effort to characterize bat rotavirus strains from 3 continents sheds light on the vast genetic diversity of rotaviruses and also hints at a bat origin for several atypical rotaviruses in humans and animals, implying that zoonoses of bat rotaviruses might occur more frequently than currently realized.

Keywords: SA11; Viral metagenomics; bat rotavirus; rotavirus genetic diversity; zoonosis.

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Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
Geographic distribution of the currently known bat RVA GCs. The colored dots on the map represent the circulating genotypes at the specified locations according to the GCs shown in Table 3.
FIG 2
FIG 2
Maximum likelihood trees of the VP1, VP2, VP3, and NSP1 genes of the identified bat RVA strains with known human, bat, and other mammal RVAs. Only bootstrap values above 70 are shown. The genotypes are listed on the right side of the trees. The bat RVA strains identified in this study are shown in bold and colored to their GC, while previously reported bat RVA strains are shown in bold in black. Non-bat RVA strains related to the bat RVA strains identified in this study are marked with silhouettes indicating their host.
FIG 3
FIG 3
Maximum likelihood trees of the VP4, VP6, and VP7 genes of the identified bat RVA strains with known human, bat, and other mammal RVAs. Only bootstrap values above 70 are shown. The genotypes are listed on the right side of the trees. The bat RVA strains identified in this study are shown in bold and colored to their GC, while previously reported bat RVA strains are shown in bold in black. Non-bat RVA strains related to the bat RVA strains identified in this study are marked with silhouettes indicating their host.
FIG 4
FIG 4
Maximum likelihood trees of the NSP2, NSP3, NSP4, and NSP5 genes of the identified bat RVA strains with known human, bat and other mammal RVAs. Only bootstrap values above 70 are shown. The genotypes are listed on the right side of the trees. The bat RVA strains identified in this study are shown in bold and colored to their GC, while previously reported bat RVA strains are shown in bold in black. Non-bat RVA strains related to the bat RVA strains identified in this study are marked with silhouettes indicating their host.
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