Alphacoronavirus Detection in Lungs, Liver, and Intestines of Bats from Brazil

Made available in DSpace on 2019-10-06T17:19:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2019-01-01 Bats are flying mammals distributed worldwide known to host several types of Coronavirus (CoV). Since they were reported as the probable source of spillover of highly pathogenic CoV into the human population, investigating the circulation of this virus in bats around the world became of great importance. We analyzed samples from 103 bats from two distinct regions in Brazil. Coronavirus from the Alphacoronavirus genus was detected in 12 animals, 11 from São José do Rio Preto—SP region and 1 from Barreiras—BA region, resulting in a prevalence of 17.18% and 2.56% respectively. The virus was detected not only in intestines but also in lungs and liver. Phylogenetic analysis based on nsP12 genomic region suggests that the sequences group according to host family and sampling location. Studies on the circulation of these viruses in bats remain important to understand the ecology and evolutionary relationship of these pathogens. Instituto de Biociências Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE) Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP) - Campus de São José do Rio Preto, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, Jardim Nazareth Centro das Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS) Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia (UFOB), Rua Professor José Seabra de Lemos, 316, Recanto dos Pássaros Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, Vila São Pedro Instituto de Biociências Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE) Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP) - Campus de São José do Rio Preto, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, Jardim Nazareth