Discovery of a rich gene pool of bat SARS-related coronaviruses provides new insights into the origin of SARS coronavirus

Abstract

A large number of SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoV) have been detected in horseshoe bats since 2005 in different areas of China. However, these bat SARSr-CoVs show sequence differences from SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in different genes (S, ORF8, ORF3, etc) and are considered unlikely to represent the direct progenitor of SARS-CoV. Herein, we report the findings of our 5-year surveillance of SARSr-CoVs in a cave inhabited by multiple species of horseshoe bats in Yunnan Province, China. The full-length genomes of 11 newly discovered SARSr-CoV strains, together with our previous findings, reveals that the SARSr-CoVs circulating in this single location are highly diverse in the S gene, ORF3 and ORF8. Importantly, strains with high genetic similarity to SARS-CoV in the hypervariable N-terminal domain (NTD) and receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S1 gene, the ORF3 and ORF8 region, respectively, were all discovered in this cave. In addition, we report the first discovery of bat SARSr-CoVs highly similar to human SARS-CoV in ORF3b and in the split ORF8a and 8b. Moreover, SARSr-CoV strains from this cave were more closely related to SARS-CoV in the non-structural protein genes ORF1a and 1b compared with those detected elsewhere. Recombination analysis shows evidence of frequent recombination events within the S gene and around the ORF8 between these SARSr-CoVs. We hypothesize that the direct progenitor of SARS-CoV may have originated after sequential recombination events between the precursors of these SARSr-CoVs. Cell entry studies demonstrated that three newly identified SARSr-CoVs with different S protein sequences are all able to use human ACE2 as the receptor, further exhibiting the close relationship between strains in this cave and SARS-CoV. This work provides new insights into the origin and evolution of SARS-CoV and highlights the necessity of preparedness for future emergence of SARS-like diseases.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1. Similarity plot based on the full-length genome sequence of civet SARS CoV SZ3.

Full-length genome sequences of all SARSr-CoV detected in bats from the cave investigated in this study were used as reference sequences. The analysis was performed with the Kimura model, a window size of 1500 base pairs and a step size of 150 base pairs.

Fig 2. Schematic diagram illustrating the genomic regions or ORFs with most variation between different SARS-CoV and SARSr-CoV isolates.

Coding regions of the N-terminal domain (NTD) and receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein, ORF3a/b and ORF8 (8a/b) in bat SARSr-CoV genomes highly similar to those in SARS CoV genome are indicated with black boxes or arrows while the hollow boxes or arrows represent corresponding regions with less sequence similarity to those of SARS-CoV. The deletions in the RBD of some SARSr-CoVs are indicated by two vertical lines.

Fig 3. Amino acid sequence comparison of the S1 subunit (corresponding to aa 1–660 of the spike protein of SARS-CoV).

The receptor-binding domain (aa 318–510) of SARS-CoV and the homologous region of bat SARSr-CoVs are indicated by the red box. The key aa residues involved in the interaction with human ACE2 are numbered on top of the aligned sequences. SARS-CoV GZ02, BJ01 and Tor2 were isolated from patients in the early, middle and late phase, respectively, of the SARS outbreak in 2003. SARS-CoV SZ3 was identified from civets in 2003. SARSr-CoV Rs 672 and YN2013 were identified from R. sinicus collected in Guizhou and Yunnan Province, respectively. SARSr-CoV Rf1 and JL2012 were identified from R. ferrumequinum collected in Hubei and Jilin Province, respectively. WIV1, WIV16, RsSHC014, Rs4081, Rs4084, Rs4231, Rs4237, Rs4247, Rs7327 and Rs4874 were identified from R.sinicus, and Rf4092 from R. ferrumequinum in the cave surveyed in this study.

Fig 4. Alignment of nucleotide sequences of ORF8 or ORF8a/8b.

The start codons and stop codons of ORF8, 8a and 8b are marked with black boxes and the forward and reverse arrows, respectively. The deletion responsible for the split ORF8a and 8b in human SARS-CoV BJ01, Tor2 and bat SARSr-CoV Rs4084 is marked with red boxes. See the legend for Fig 3 for the origin of various sequences used in this alignment.

Fig 5. Detection of potential recombination events by similarity plot and boot scan analysis.

(A) Full-length genome sequence of SARSr-CoV WIV16 was used as query sequence and WIV1, Rs4231 and Rs4081 as reference sequences. (B) Full-length genome sequence of SARS-CoV SZ3 was used as query sequence and SARSr-CoV WIV16, Rf4092 and Rs4081 as reference sequences. All analyses were performed with a Kimura model, a window size of 1500 base pairs, and a step size of 150 base pairs. The gene map of query genome sequences are used to position breakpoints.

Fig 6

Phylogenetic trees based on nucleotide sequences of ORF1a (A) and ORF1b (B). The trees were constructed by the maximum likelihood method using the LG model with bootstrap values determined by 1000 replicates. Only bootstraps > 50% are shown. The scale bars represent 0.03 (A) and 0.02 (B) substitutions per nucleotide position. Rs, Rhinolophus sinicus; Rf, Rhinolophus ferremequinum; Rm, Rhinolophus macrotis; Ra, Rhinolophus affinis; Rp, Rhinolophus pusillus; As, Aselliscus stoliczkanus; Cp, Chaerephon plicata. SARSr-CoVs detected in bats from the single cave surveyed in this study are in bold. Sequences detected in southwestern China are indicated in red.

Fig 7. Infection of Vero E6 cells by bat SARSr-CoV WIV1, Rs4874, WIV1-Rs4231S and WIV1-Rs7327S.

(A) The successful infection was confirmed by immunofluorescent antibody staining using rabbit antibody against the SARSr-CoV Rp3 nucleocapsid protein. The columns (from left to right) show staining of nuclei (blue), virus replication (red), and both nuclei and virus replication (merged double-stain images). (B) The growth curves in Vero E6 cells with a MOI of 1.0 and 0.01.

Fig 8

Analysis of receptor usage by immunofluorescence assay (A) and real-time PCR (B). Virus infectivity of Rs4874, WIV1-Rs4231S and WIV1-Rs7327S was determined in HeLa cells with and without the expression of human ACE2. ACE2 expression was detected with goat anti-human ACE2 antibody followed by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated donkey anti-goat IgG. Virus replication was detected with rabbit antibody against the SARSr-CoV Rp3 nucleocapsid protein followed by cyanine 3 (Cy3)-conjugated mouse anti-rabbit IgG. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (49,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole).The columns (from left to right) show staining of nuclei (blue), ACE2 expression (green), virus replication (red) and the merged triple-stained images, respectively.

Fig 9. Functional characterization of diverse ORF8 and ORF8a proteins of bat SARSr-CoVs.

(A) The ORF8 proteins of SARS-CoV and bat SARSr-CoVs induces the ATF6-dependent transcriptional activity. HeLa cells were transiently transfected with the pcAGGS expression plasmids of the ORF8 of SARS-CoV GZ02, bat SARSr-CoV Rf1, WIV1 and Rf4092 and the reporter plasmid 5×ATF6-GL3 for 40h. Control cells were co-transfected with the reporter plasmid and the empty pCAGGS vector for 24h, and treated with or without TM (2μg/ml) for an additional 16h. The cell lysates were harvested for dual luciferase assay and data are shown as the average values from triplicate wells. (B) The ORF8a proteins of SARS-CoV and bat SARSr-CoV triggered apoptosis. 293T cells were transfected with the expression plasmids of the ORF8a of SARS-CoV Tor2 and bat SARSr-CoV Rs4084 and a pcAGGS vector control for 24h. Apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry after annexin V staining and the percentage of apoptotic cells were calculated. Data are shown as the average values from triplicate cells. Error bars indicate SDs. * P<0.05.