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ABSTRACT
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) first emerged in 2003, causing the SARS epidemic which resulted in a 10% fatality rate. The advancements in metagenomic techniques have allowed the identification of SARS-like coronaviruses (SL-CoVs) sequences that share high homology to the human SARS-CoV epidemic strains from wildlife bats, presenting concrete evidence that bats are the origin and natural reservoir of SARS-CoV. The application of reverse genetics further enabled that characterization of these bat CoVs and the prediction of their potential to cause disease in humans. The knowledge gained from such studies is valuable in the surveillance and preparation of a possible future outbreak caused by a spill-over of these bat SL-CoVs.
Abbreviations
| SARS-CoV | = | Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus |
| SL-CoV | = | SARS-like coronavirus |
| MERS-CoV | = | Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus |
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.
Funding
The authors’ current research on coronavirus is supported by a grant from the National University Health System (NUHS) under the Seed Fund for Basic Science Research [Grant number is T1-BSRG 2015-04].