Bats are presumed reservoirs of diverse coronaviruses (CoVs) including progenitors of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. However, the evolution and diversification of these coronaviruses remains poorly understood. Here we use a Bayesian statistical framework and a large sequence data set from bat-CoVs (including 630 novel CoV sequences) in China to study their macroevolution, cross-species transmission and dispersal. We find that host-switching occurs more frequently and across more distantly related host taxa in alpha- than beta-CoVs, and is more highly constrained by phylogenetic distance for beta-CoVs. We show that inter-family and -genus switching is most common in Rhinolophidae and the genus Rhinolophus . Our analyses identify the host taxa and geographic regions that define hotspots of CoV evolutionary diversity in China that could help target bat-CoV discovery for proactive zoonotic disease surveillance. Finally, we present a phylogenetic analysis suggesting a likely origin for SARS-CoV-2 in Rhinolophus spp. bats. Bats are a likely reservoir of zoonotic coronaviruses (CoVs). Here, analyzing bat CoV sequences in China, the authors find that alpha-CoVs have switched hosts more frequently than betaCoVs, identify a bat family and genus that are highly involved in host-switching, and define hotspots of CoV evolutionary diversity.
【저자키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, viral evolution, Evolutionary biology, phylogenetics, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, Evolution, coronavirus, Bayesian, China, Phylogenetic analysis, Region, Surveillance, Alpha, CoV, bat, respiratory, bats, Analysis, Cross-species transmission, dispersal, Phylogenetic, switching, sequence, help, CoVs, Zoonotic coronavirus, zoonotic disease, reservoir, hotspot, bat-CoV, statistical framework, beta-CoVs, Host, identify, involved, occur, Rhinolophidae, 【제목키워드】 origin, China, Cross-species transmission, bat coronavirus,