Scientists report exceptional selection pressure on coronavirus host receptors in bats compared to other mammals RSocPublishing StanfordMed SARSCoV2 COVID19 Coronaviruses HostReceptors Bats
By Dr. Priyom Bose, Ph.D.Aug 1 2022Reviewed by Aimee Molineux The current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic occurred due to the zoonotic spillover of a novel coronavirus, namely, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 . This pandemic has highlighted the importance of understanding how pathogens and hosts co-evolve in response to each other.
Scientists stated that based on the evolutionary histories of bat species, the virus has changed its characteristic features with varying levels of infectiousness and response to the host’s immunity. Hence, it is extremely important to investigate all species to determine the one with a higher level of risk of zoonotic spillover to humans or vice versa.
In this study, researchers utilized ACE2 and DPP4 sequences from fifty-five bat species representing five families and thirty-seven genera to analyze their evolution. Scientists obtained the ACE2 and DPP4 sequences and mammalian ACE2 and DPP4 orthologues from Gen-Bank. Scientists conducted phylogenetic and molecular analyses to identify the evolutionary diversities and similarities.
Key findings In this study, scientists analyzed around 270 ACE2 sequences from 206 species, i.e., 98 bat and 108 non-bat species. Additionally, they evaluated 248 DPP4 sequences from 235 species, which included 92 bat and 143 non-bat species. Although many non-bat mammal species were present, scientists observed a higher number of unique combinations in bats compared to non-bat species.
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