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

First Report of Alphacoronavirus Circulating in Cavernicolous Bats from Portugal

Mahima Hemnani  1 , 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

First Report of Alphacoronavirus Circulating in Cavernicolous Bats from Portugal

Mahima Hemnani et al. Viruses. .

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selected sampling locations in Portugal used in this study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic tree constructed for the alpha, beta, gamma, deltacoronavirus and the alphacoronaviruses subgenus indicated in green and pink, using 46 reference strains and 7 strains identified in this study. Phylogenetic analysis was based on a 406 nt partial region of the RdRp. The tree was constructed using MEGA 11 and using the maximum likelihood based on the GTR + G + I model, and 1000 bootstraps were replicated. Samples from this study are indicated in red with the description of sample number, GenBank accession number and host bat species.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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