Bats are natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses

Science. 2005 Oct 28;310(5748):676-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1118391. Epub 2005 Sep 29.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged in 2002 to 2003 in southern China. The origin of its etiological agent, the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), remains elusive. Here we report that species of bats are a natural host of coronaviruses closely related to those responsible for the SARS outbreak. These viruses, termed SARS-like coronaviruses (SL-CoVs), display greater genetic variation than SARS-CoV isolated from humans or from civets. The human and civet isolates of SARS-CoV nestle phylogenetically within the spectrum of SL-CoVs, indicating that the virus responsible for the SARS outbreak was a member of this coronavirus group.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • China / epidemiology
  • Chiroptera / virology*
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Communicable Diseases, Emerging
  • Coronavirus* / classification
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Disease Reservoirs*
  • Genetic Variation
  • Genome, Viral
  • Henipavirus / classification
  • Humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / transmission
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / virology
  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus* / classification
  • Vero Cells
  • Viverridae / virology

Associated data

  • GENBANK/UNKNOWN