Detection of alphacoronaviruses in Rhinolophus ferrumequinum in Ehime, Japan.

Ogawa H, Kuwata R, Watanabe S, Nakamoto A, Yachimori S, Takeishi M, Niino R, Isawa H, Maeda K, Yoshikawa Y.

Bats are suspected reservoirs for several emerging viruses, including coronaviruses. Here, we report the detection of coronaviruses in the insectivorous bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, in Ehime Prefecture, located in Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial sequence of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene revealed that alphacoronaviruses have circulated throughout Ehime. Additionally, the near whole-genome sequence of the identified virus (EhRf2310-18) was closely related to that of BtRf-alphaCoV/HuB2013 identified in R. ferrumequinum in China (93.062 % overall nucleotide identity), indicating that bat coronaviruses circulating in Ehime belong to the Decacovirus subgenus of Alphacoronavirus. Alphacoronaviruses in R. ferrumequinum may be strongly adapted to this species, and are distributed across a wide area between Ehime and China.

Infect Genet Evol.

105809