Five-year longitudinal surveillance reveals the continual circulation of both alpha- and beta-coronaviruses in Plateau and Gansu pikas (Ochotona spp.) at Qinghai Lake, China1

Abstract

The discovery of alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses in plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) expanded the host range of mammalian coronavirus (CoV) to a new order – Lagomorpha. However, the diversity and evolutionary relationships of CoVs in these plateau-region-specific animal population remains uncertain. We conducted a five-year longitudinal surveillance of CoVs harboured by pikas around Qinghai Lake, China. CoVs were identified in 33 of 236 plateau pikas and 2 of 6 Gansu pikas (Ochotona cansus), with a total positivity rate of 14.5%, and exhibiting a wide spatiotemporal distribution across seven sampling sites and six time points. Through meta-transcriptomic sequencing and RT–PCR, we recovered 16 near-complete viral genome sequences. Phylogenetic analyses classified the viruses as variants of either pika alphacoronaviruses or betacoronaviruses endemic to plateau pikas from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region. Of particular note, the pika-associated betacoronaviruses may represent a novel subgenus within the genus Betacoronavirus. Tissue tropism, evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR, revealed the presence of CoV in the rectal and/or lung tissues, with the highest viral loads at 103.55 or 102.80 RNA copies/μL. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays indicated that the newly identified betacoronavirus did not bind to human or pika Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) or Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4). The findings highlight the ongoing circulation and broadening host spectrum of CoVs among pikas, emphasizing the necessity for further investigation to evaluate their potential public health risks.

Keywords

• Alphacoronavirus
• betacoronavirus
• pika
• evolution
• Qinghai Lake