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The coronavirus still has many secrets. One of them may be dissolved soon. Evidence emerged that SARS-CoV-2 probably wasn’t an entirely new virus that suddenly appeared in China. They were found in… laboratory freezers in Japan and Cambodia. “They brought surprising discoveries”, emphasizes the scientific journal Nature.
- SARS-CoV-2 is not an artificial creation, it was created naturally. There is evidence that it comes from horseshoe bats
- Coronaviruses closely “related” to the pandemic virus were found in animal samples stored in laboratories in Cambodia and Japan
- These are the first SARS-CoV-2 related pathogens identified outside of China
- You can find more about the coronavirus on the TvoiLokony home page
The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus fired the imaginations of many people, especially at the beginning of the pandemic. This topic was also the source of the myths spread. A lot of people believed that the pathogen was created in a laboratory in Wuhan, and some said it was caused by 5G technology. Scientific research conducted in centers around the world leaves no doubt: attacking people COVID-2 it is not an artificial creation, it arose naturally. There is evidence that it comes from horseshoe bats.
However, scientists are still asking detailed questions about its origin and its sources. Evidence has just emerged that SARS-CoV-2 probably wasn’t a brand new virus that emerged suddenly. “Viruses in this group existed before we knew about them in 2019,” said Tracey Goldstein, deputy director of the One Health Institute at the University of California, Davis.
Information on this was provided by two laboratory freezers – one at a research center in Japan and the other in Cambodia. “That’s what we were looking for and found,” says Veasna Duong, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. – It was exciting and surprising at the same time – he adds. What have the scientists discovered?
The origin of SARS-CoV-2. What have been discovered in laboratory freezers?
A coronavirus has been identified in horseshoe bats stored in a freezer in a Cambodian laboratory, closely related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Meanwhile, a team from Japan announced the discovery of another closely “related” coronavirus – found in samples of frozen animals. In short, coronaviruses closely “related” to the pandemic virus were found. These are the first SARS-CoV-2 related pathogens identified outside of China.
In Cambodia, the virus was identified in two horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus shameli) captured in the north of the country in 2010. The virus genome has not yet been fully sequenced, so it is difficult to establish exactly what it was in the development of the current pandemic.
– If the link between it and SARS-CoV-2 turns out to be very close or it is confirmed that it is even its “ancestor”, it is likely that information about the origin of the pandemic and how the pandemic virus spread from bats to humans is obtained – explains Veasna Duong. For that to happen, the virus would have to divide more than 97 percent. its genome from SARS-CoV-2, which is larger than its closest known “relative”, Rc-o319, the researchers say. ‘If the similarity is lower, studying the new virus will yield more data on the diversity of this family of viruses,’ says Etienne Simon-Loriere, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris who plans to sequence the pathogen.
– This is the case with the virus called Rc-o319 – it was identified in the Japanese horseshoe bat captured in 2013. This virus has 81 percent. common genome with SARS-CoV-2 – not enough to gain any insight into the origins of the pandemic, says Edward Holmes, virologist at the University of Sydney in Australia.
“These findings excite scientists because they confirm that viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 are relatively common in bats, including those found outside of China,” said Alice Latinne, an evolutionary biologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society. As pointed out by Aaron Irving, an infectious disease researcher at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, they also suggest that in samples of frozen animals stored in laboratories, there may be more as yet undiscovered pathogens associated with the pandemic virus. The scientist plans to test preserved samples of bats and other mammals for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
So far, only a few coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 have been identified. The closest known “relative” is the already mentioned RaTG13. It was discovered in 2013 in the intermediate horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus affinis) in the Chinese province of Yunnan. There are also several other coronaviruses closely related to the virus that causes COVID-19 – they were found in other bats in the Rhinolophus family and pangolins captured between 2015 and 2019.
According to Alice Latinne, the findings confirm that Rhinolophus bats are a reservoir of these viruses.
Scientists emphasize that the new virus would have to be at least 99 percent. similar to SARS-CoV-2 to be its direct ancestor. The RaTG13 and SARS-CoV-2 genomes differ only by 4%. (Cell culture studies suggest that RaTG13 may infect humans). More distant is Rc-o319 which “cannot infect us easily”.
In the search for an ancestor to SARS-CoV-2, scientists plan to study more bats. Further coronaviruses associated with the current pandemic virus are likely to be found in Rhinolophus bat populations that live in the northern region of Cambodia. “Hopefully one or more of them will be so closely related to SARS-CoV-2 that we can consider it its true ancestor,” said Edward Holmes of the University of Sydney in Australia.
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