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. 2022 Feb 11;12(1):2386.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-06432-z.

First detection of Hedgehog coronavirus 1 in Poland

Małgorzata Pomorska-Mól  1 , Jakub J Ruszkowski  2   3 , Maciej Gogulski  4   3 , Katarzyna Domanska-Blicharz  5
Affiliations

First detection of Hedgehog coronavirus 1 in Poland

Małgorzata Pomorska-Mól et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Hedgehogs are common in the majority of European countries and are known to host various pathogens, including viruses. The recent discovery of MERS-related coronaviruses (CoVs) in hedgehogs from Germany, France, the UK, China, and Italy suggests that hedgehogs may represent a wild reservoir of betacoronaviruses. This study reports the first detection and characterization of novel betacoronovirus, subgenus Merbecovirus in wild hedgehogs in Poland. The CoV RNA was detected in 10 out of 40 hedgehogs' rectal swabs and in 1 out of 18 samples of the lung. No viral RNA was identified in the duodenum and kidney. There was no significant relationship between clinical status, gender, hedgehogs' age, and coronaviral RNA detection. Phylogenetic analysis showed that CoVs detected in our study grouped together with other representatives of Hedgehog coronavirus 1 species identified in Western Europe. Our findings provide further evidence that hedgehogs are a natural reservoir of Merbecovirus. Considering the high mutation rate of CoVs and their potential for crossing interspecies barriers, the proper management of hedgehogs admitted to wildlife rehabilitation centres is needed. It cannot be excluded that merbecovirus strains detected in hedgehogs may recombine with other CoVs leading to new viruses with potential for interspecies transmission.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phylogenetic analysis of betacoronaviruses based on the replicase gene fragment. (A) The tree constructed for 37 betacoronaviruses: 10 strains identified in hedgehogs in Poland (marked with a dot), 27 from GenBank including 5 reference strains (written in bold and underlined) representing ratified four species of the Merbecovirus subgenus, and fifth strain representing the only species of Sarbecovirus subgenus as the outgroup. (B) Separate subtree of betacoronaviruses of the Hedgehog coronavirus 1 species. The tree was constructed using MEGA 7 using the maximum likelihood method based on the T92 + G + I model and 1000 bootstrap replicates (bootstrap values shown on the tree).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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