New Coronavirus in Colombian Caribbean Bats: In Silico Analysis Reveals Possible Risk of Interspecific Jumping

Since the appearance of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, there has been increased interest in understanding the role of bats in the maintenance and circulation of coronaviruses. This study aimed to describe the phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships and antigenic architecture of a new coronavirus detected in bats in the Department of Córdoba. In a surveillance study of pathogens of interest to public health, a bat Phyllostomus hastatus was captured. Rectal swabs samples were collected from the bats, and RNA was extracted and sequenced using NGS with MGI-G50 equipment. The results were analyzed using bioinformatics software. A contig of 28,619 nucleotides associated with the Coronaviridae family was obtained. Phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses of the ORF1ab gene revealed a novel divergent Alphacoronavirus that originated directly from an ancestral node. The analysis of the spike (S) protein and receptor-binding domain (RBD) is similar to that of humans (HCoV-229E) and porcine coronaviruses. In silico analysis suggests potential RBD interaction sites with human and pig cellular receptor aminopeptidase N. There is a possible risk of interspecies jumping of the new AlphaCoV/P. hastatus in humans and pigs. This is the first study to perform phylogenetic, evolutionary, and antigenic characterization of bat coronaviruses in Colombia.