Published in:
01-12-2012 | Brief Report
Genomic and serological detection of bat coronavirus from bats in the Philippines
Authors:
Shumpei Tsuda, Shumpei Watanabe, Joseph S. Masangkay, Tetsuya Mizutani, Phillip Alviola, Naoya Ueda, Koichiro Iha, Satoshi Taniguchi, Hikaru Fujii, Kentaro Kato, Taisuke Horimoto, Shigeru Kyuwa, Yasuhiro Yoshikawa, Hiroomi Akashi
Published in:
Archives of Virology
|
Issue 12/2012
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Abstract
Bat coronavirus (BtCoV) is assumed to be a progenitor of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related coronaviruses. To explore the distribution of BtCoVs in the Philippines, we collected 179 bats and detected viral RNA from intestinal or fecal samples by RT-PCR. The overall prevalence of BtCoVs among bats was 29.6 %. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene suggested that one of the detected BtCoVs was a novel alphacoronavirus, while the others belonged to the genus Betacoronavirus. Western blotting revealed that 66.5 % of bat sera had antibodies to BtCoV. These surveys suggested the endemic presence of BtCoVs in the Philippines.