A divergent betacoronavirus with a functional furin cleavage site in South American bats

Abstract Bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range of RNA viruses. Members of the genus Betacoronavirus , including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus (MERS-CoV), have attracted particular attention due to their recent zoonotic emergence. However, much of the known diversity of betacoronaviruses is based on data from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with limited genomic information available from the Americas. Herein, we report the complete genome of a novel bat betacoronavirus identified from a Pteronotus parnellii bat sampled in Brazil. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this virus is sufficiently distinct from the five recognized Betacoronavirus subgenera to represent a new subgenus. Of note, the spike protein of this novel bat coronavirus possesses a functional furin cleavage site at the S1/S2 junction with a unique amino acid sequence motif (RDAR) that differs from that found in SARS-CoV-2 (RRAR) by only one amino acid. Comparative structural analysis identified other betacoronaviruses in bats with furin cleavage sites at the S1/S2 junction, suggesting that this region is a structurally permissive “hotspot” for cleavage site incorporation. Our study provides a broader understanding of the phylogenetic and functional diversity of bat coronaviruses as well as their zoonotic potential.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-09-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77599-6
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Animal Virus Infections Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.72

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article

A divergent betacoronavirus with a functional furin cleavage site in South American bats

Éric Takashi Kamakura de Carvalho Mesquita, Itsuki Anzai, Tadashi Maemura, Mateus de Souza Ribeiro Mioni et al.
1 citations
Nature Communications
Animal Virus Infections Studies
4.72
article

A divergent betacoronavirus with a functional furin cleavage site in South American bats

Éric Takashi Kamakura de Carvalho Mesquita, Itsuki Anzai, Tadashi Maemura, Mateus de Souza Ribeiro Mioni, Tiago J. S. Lopes, Nicholas Yamahoki, Tokiko Watanabe, Jonathon C. O. Mifsud, Francisco Borges Costa, K. Takada, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Jane Megid, Edward C. Holmes
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Abstract Bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range of RNA viruses. Members of the genus Betacoronavirus , including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus (MERS-CoV), have attracted particular attention due to their recent zoonotic emergence. However, much of the known diversity of betacoronaviruses is based on data from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with limited genomic information available from the Americas. Herein, we report the complete genome of a novel bat betacoronavirus identified from a Pteronotus parnellii bat sampled in Brazil. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this virus is sufficiently distinct from the five recognized Betacoronavirus subgenera to represent a new subgenus. Of note, the spike protein of this novel bat coronavirus possesses a functional furin cleavage site at the S1/S2 junction with a unique amino acid sequence motif (RDAR) that differs from that found in SARS-CoV-2 (RRAR) by only one amino acid. Comparative structural analysis identified other betacoronaviruses in bats with furin cleavage sites at the S1/S2 junction, suggesting that this region is a structurally permissive “hotspot” for cleavage site incorporation. Our study provides a broader understanding of the phylogenetic and functional diversity of bat coronaviruses as well as their zoonotic potential.

Nature Communications
The University of Sydney (AU), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), Rega Institute for Medical Research (BE), National Institute of Infectious Diseases (JP), National Center for Global Health and Medicine (JP), Saitama International Medical Center (JP), Núcleo de Pesquisas Aplicadas (Brazil) (BR), Universidade Estadual do Maranhão (BR), The University of Tokyo (JP), Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (BR), The University of Osaka (JP), KU Leuven (BE)
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Takeda Medical Research Foundation, National Health and Medical Research Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Animal Virus Infections Studies
4.72
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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