Ahead of Print -Novel Betacoronavirus in Dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013 - Volume 20, Number 4—April 2014 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

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Ahead of Print -Novel Betacoronavirus in Dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013 - Volume 20, Number 4—April 2014 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

Volume 20, Number 4—April 2014

Research

Novel Betacoronavirus in Dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013

Article Contents

• Materials and Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Figure 1
• Figure 2
• Figure 3
• Figure 4
• Figure 5
• Figure 6
• Figure 7
• Table 1
• Table 2
• Table 3
• Table 4
• Table 5
• Technical Appendix - 364 KB 
• Suggested Citation

Patrick C.Y. Woo1 , Susanna K.P. Lau1, Ulrich Wernery, Emily Y.M. Wong, Alan K.L. Tsang, Bobby Johnson, Cyril C.Y. Yip, Candy C.Y. Lau, Saritha Sivakumar, Jian-Piao Cai, Rachel Y.Y. Fan, Kwok-Hung Chan, Ringu Mareena, and Kwok-Yung Yuen

Author affiliations: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China (P.C.Y. Woo, S.K.P. Lau, E.Y.M. Wong, A.K.L. Tsang, C.C.Y. Yip, C.C.Y. Lau, J.-P. Cai, R.Y.Y. Fan, K.H. Chan, K.-Y. Yuen); Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (U. Wernery, B. Johnson, S. Sivakumar, R. Mareena)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract

In 2013, a novel betacoronavirus was identified in fecal samples from dromedaries in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Antibodies against the recombinant nucleocapsid protein of the virus, which we named dromedary camel coronavirus (DcCoV) UAE-HKU23, were detected in 52% of 59 dromedary serum samples tested. In an analysis of 3 complete DcCoV UAE-HKU23 genomes, we identified the virus as a betacoronavirus in lineage A1. The DcCoV UAE-HKU23 genome has G+C contents; a general preference for G/C in the third position of codons; a cleavage site for spike protein; and a membrane protein of similar length to that of other betacoronavirus A1 members, to which DcCoV UAE-HKU23 is phylogenetically closely related. Along with this coronavirus, viruses of at least 8 other families have been found to infect camels. Because camels have a close association with humans, continuous surveillance should be conducted to understand the potential for virus emergence in camels and for virus transmission to humans.

The 2003 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) boosted interest in the discovery of new coronaviruses (CoVs) (1–3). In 2004, a novel human CoV (HCoV), named HCoV-NL63, was reported (4), and the discovery of another novel HCoV, HCoV-HKU1, was described and further characterized in 2005 (5,6) and 2006 (7). SARS-CoV–like viruses have also been reported in Chinese horseshoe bats in Hong Kong, China, and other horseshoe bats in China (8,9). The discovery in Chinese horseshoe bats in Yunnan, China, of a new SARS-CoV–like virus that uses ACE2 as receptor has furthered interest in discovering animal origins of human infections (10). We have discovered 20 other animal CoVs that include 2 novel betacoronavirus lineages and a novel genus, Deltacoronavirus (11–20). From our studies, bats and birds were shown to be the gene sources for fueling the evolution and dissemination of alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses and of gammacoronaviruses and deltacoronaviruses, respectively (18).

In 2012, a novel CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV) emerged as a cause of severe respiratory infections associated with high rates of death among humans; the virus is closely related to tylonycteris bat CoV HKU4 and pipistrellus bat CoV HKU5 (Pi-Bat CoV HKU5) (21–23). It has also been shown that dromedaries in the Middle East possess MERS-CoV neutralizing antibodies (24). To further knowledge of the evolution and dissemination of CoVs, we conducted a molecular epidemiology study of fecal samples obtained from dromedaries in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Acknowledgments

We thank Wing-Man Ko and Constance Chan for their continuous support.

This work is partly supported by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Health and Medical Research Fund; Seed Funding for TRS and Strategic Research Theme Fund, The University of Hong Kong; Theme-based Research Scheme, Research Grant Council Grant, University Grant Council; and Consultancy Service for Enhancing Laboratory Surveillance of Emerging Infectious Disease for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Department of Health.

Dr Woo is a professor and head of the Department of Microbiology at The University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on novel microbe discovery and microbial genomics.

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Figures

• Figure 1. . . . Genome organizations of a novel betacoronavirus, in boldface, discovered in dromedaries in the Middle East in 2013, and representative coronaviruses from each coronavirus genus (labeled on...
• Figure 2. . . . Amino acid comparison of the spike protein of a novel betacoronavirus, dromedary camel coronavirus (DcCoV) UAE-HKU23, discovered in dromedaries in the Middle East in 2013, with...
• Figure 3. . . . Phylogenetic analysis of open reading frame (ORF) 1b polyprotein of dromedary camel coronavirus (DcCoV) UAE-HKU23 from dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013. The tree was constructed...
• Figure 4. . . . Phylogenetic analyses of spike protein of dromedary camel coronavirus (DcCoV) UAE-HKU23from dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013.The tree was constructed by the neighbor-joining method, using Jones-Taylor-Thornton...
• Figure 5. . . . Phylogenetic analyses of the nucleocapsid protein of a novel coronavirus (CoV), dromedary camel CoV (DcCoV) UAE-HKU23, discovered in dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013.The tree was...
• Figure 6. . . . Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis of a novel coronavirus, dromedary camel coronavirus UAE-HKU23, discovered in dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013.Nucleocapsid protein...
• Figure 7. . . . The evolution of corona viruses from their ancestors in bat and bird hosts to new virus species that infect other animals.

Tables

• Table 1. Epidemiologic data for dromedaries in the Middle East that were positive for a novel betacoronavirus, DcCoV UAE-HKU23, 2013
• Table 2. Comparison of representative coronaviruses with a novel betacoronavirus, DcCoV UAE-HKU23, discovered in dromedaries in the Middle East, 2013
• Table 3. Putative transcription regulatory sequence of betacoronavirus A1 members
• Table 4. Detection of antibodies to MERS-CoV in dromedaries in the Middle East, 2013
• Table 5. Estimates of nonsynonymous and synonymous substitution rates in the genomes of a novel betacoronavirus, DcCoV UAE-HKU23, discovered in dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013

Technical Appendix

• Technical Appendix.  364 KB 

Suggested citation for this article: Woo PCY, Lau SKP, Wernery U, Wong EYM, Tsang AKL, Johnson B, et al. Novel betacoronavirus in dromedaries of the Middle East, 2013. Emerg Infect Dis [Internet]. 2014 Apr [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2004.131769

DOI: 10.3201/eid2004.131769

1These authors contributed equally to this article.