At Least Seven Distinct Rotavirus Genotype Constellations in Bats with Evidence of Reassortment and Zoonotic Transmissions
Ceren Simsek, Victor M. Corman, Hermann Ulrich Everling, Alexander N. Lukashev, Andrea Rasche, Gaël Darren Maganga, Tabea Binger, Daan Jansen, Leen Beller, Ward Deboutte, Florian Gloza‐Rausch, Antje Seebens-Hoyer, S. Yordanov, Augustina Angelina Sylverken, Samuel Oppong, Yaw Adu Sarkodie, Peter Vallo, Eric M. Leroy, Mathieu Bourgarel, Claude Kwe Yinda, Marc Van Ranst, Christian Drosten, Jan Felix Drexler, Jelle Matthijnssens
Abstract
The increased research on bat coronaviruses after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) allowed the very rapid identification of SARS-CoV-2. This is an excellent example of the importance of knowing viruses harbored by wildlife in general, and bats in particular, for global preparedness against emerging viral pathogens. The current effort to characterize bat rotavirus strains from 3 continents sheds light on the vast genetic diversity of rotaviruses and also hints at a bat origin for several atypical rotaviruses in humans and animals, implying that zoonoses of bat rotaviruses might occur more frequently than currently realized.