Detection of Coronaviruses in Bats in Lebanon during 2020
Ahmed Kandeil,
Mounir Abi-Said,
Rebecca Badra,
Rabeh El-Shesheny,
Ahmed A. Al-Karmalawy,
Radwan Alnajjar,
Zumama Khalid,
Mina Nabil Kamel,
Walid Abi Habib,
Jad Abdallah,
Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran,
Richard Webby,
Ghazi Kayali
Affiliations
Ahmed Kandeil
Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
Mounir Abi-Said
L2GE Department of Earth and Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences II, Lebanese University, Fanar 90656, Lebanon
Rebecca Badra
Human Link DMCC, Dubai 115738, United Arab Emirates
Rabeh El-Shesheny
Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Virus, Institute of Environmental Research and Climate Change, National Research Centre, Giza 12622, Egypt
Ahmed A. Al-Karmalawy
Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahram Canadian University, Giza 12566, Egypt
Radwan Alnajjar
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Benghazi, Benghazi 1308, Libya
Zumama Khalid
Department of Health Sciences, University of Genova, 16126 Genova, Italy
Mina Nabil Kamel
Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Virus, Institute of Environmental Research and Climate Change, National Research Centre, Giza 12622, Egypt
Walid Abi Habib
Multi-Omics Laboratory, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University, P.O. Box 36, Byblos 1401, Lebanon
Jad Abdallah
Multi-Omics Laboratory, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University, P.O. Box 36, Byblos 1401, Lebanon
Vijaykrishna Dhanasekaran
School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Richard Webby
Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
Ghazi Kayali
Human Link DMCC, Dubai 115738, United Arab Emirates
Bats are considered the main reservoir of coronaviruses (CoVs), and research evidence suggests the essential role of bats in the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronaviruses (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-like viruses have been recently detected in bats in different countries. In 2020, we conducted surveillance for CoVs among six different bat species in Lebanon. Of 622 swab specimens taken, 77 tested positive. Alpha- and Beta- CoVs were identified in samples collected from different species. Our results show that SARS-like coronaviruses circulate in bats in this region, and we provide new data on their genetic diversity. The interaction between the spike of the detected SARS-CoV-like viruses and the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) receptor could be crucial in understanding the origin of the epidemic. The 3D protein structure analysis revealed that the receptor-binding domains of the SARS-like virus identified in Lebanon bind to the hACE2 protein more efficiently than to the spike of the SARS-CoV-2 strain. The spike of the detected SARS-CoV-like viruses does not contain the recognition site of furin at the cleavage site. Thus, our study highlights the variety of bat coronaviruses in Lebanon and suggests the zoonotic potential for other SARS-CoV-like viruses.
