Evolution, Ecology, and Zoonotic Transmission of Betacoronaviruses: A Review

Herbert F Jelinek; Mira Mousa; Eman Alefishat; Wael Osman; Ian Spence; Dengpan Bu; Samuel F Feng; Jason Byrd; Paola A Magni; Shafi Sahibzada; Guan K Tay; Habiba S Alsafar

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.644414

Evolution, Ecology, and Zoonotic Transmission of Betacoronaviruses: A Review

Front Vet Sci. 2021 May 20:8:644414. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.644414. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Herbert F Jelinek^{1

2

3}, Mira Mousa⁴, Eman Alefishat^{1

5

6}, Wael Osman⁷, Ian Spence⁸, Dengpan Bu⁹, Samuel F Feng^{1

10}, Jason Byrd¹¹, Paola A Magni^{12

13}, Shafi Sahibzada¹⁴, Guan K Tay^{1

15

16}, Habiba S Alsafar^{1

2

17}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
³ Center of Heath Engineering Innovation, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproduction Health, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom.
⁵ Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
⁶ Department of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
⁸ Discipline of Pharmacology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁹ State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China.
¹⁰ Department of Mathematics, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
¹¹ Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
¹² Discipline of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia.
¹³ Murdoch University Singapore, King's Centre, Singapore, Singapore.
¹⁴ Antimicrobial Resistance and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia.
¹⁵ Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
¹⁶ School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.
¹⁷ Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Coronavirus infections have been a part of the animal kingdom for millennia. The difference emerging in the twenty-first century is that a greater number of novel coronaviruses are being discovered primarily due to more advanced technology and that a greater number can be transmitted to humans, either directly or via an intermediate host. This has a range of effects from annual infections that are mild to full-blown pandemics. This review compares the zoonotic potential and relationship between MERS, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. The role of bats as possible host species and possible intermediate hosts including pangolins, civets, mink, birds, and other mammals are discussed with reference to mutations of the viral genome affecting zoonosis. Ecological, social, cultural, and environmental factors that may play a role in zoonotic transmission are considered with reference to SARS-CoV, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2 and possible future zoonotic events.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; ecology; evolution; reservoir species; zoonoses; zoonotic transmission.

Publication types

Review