Bats: it's too bad this disappeared behind a paywall. I was able to read it last night; but now behind a paywall. Great article on bats and corona viruses. Link here.
Nature has the article, but a bit more "difficult" to read, though this is pretty straightforward, written for an eighth-grader: The discovery of RaTG13 bat coronavirus in China suggested a high probability of a bat origin.
I guess one can read tweets or read Nature. I know where the Reddit crowd is headed. LOL.
Among the many questions unanswered for the COVID-19 pandemic are the
origin of SARS-CoV-2 and the potential role of intermediate animal
host(s) in the early animal-to-human transmission. The discovery of
RaTG13 bat coronavirus in China suggested a high probability of a bat
origin. Here we report molecular and serological evidence of SARS-CoV-2
related coronaviruses (SC2r-CoVs) actively circulating in bats in
Southeast Asia. Whole genome sequences were obtained from five
independent bats (Rhinolophus acuminatus) in a Thai cave yielding a single isolate (named RacCS203) which is most related to the RmYN02 isolate found in Rhinolophus malayanus
in Yunnan, China. SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies were also detected
in bats of the same colony and in a pangolin at a wildlife checkpoint
in Southern Thailand. Antisera raised against the receptor binding
domain (RBD) of RmYN02 was able to cross-neutralize SARS-CoV-2 despite
the fact that the RBD of RacCS203 or RmYN02 failed to bind ACE2.
Although the origin of the virus remains unresolved, our study extended
the geographic distribution of genetically diverse SC2r-CoVs from
Japan and China to Thailand over a 4800-km range. Cross-border
surveillance is urgently needed to find the immediate progenitor virus
of SARS-CoV-2.
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