Emerging infectious diseasesEvolutionary BiologyPeer-reviewed journal article
Ongoing evolution of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2023-2024
Ahmed M. HassaniD, Barbara MühlemanniD, Tagreed L. AlsubhiiD, Jordi RodoniD, Sherif Aly El-KafrawyiD, Ziad Ahmed MemishiD, Julia MelchertiD, Tobias BleickeriD, Tiina Mauno, Stanley M. PerlmaniD, Alimuddin I. ZumlaiD, Terry C. JonesiD, Marcel A. MülleriD, Victor M. CormaniD, Christian DrosteniD, Esam I. AzhariD
Abstract
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) circulates in dromedary camels in the Arabian Peninsula and occasionally causes spillover infections in humans. Due to lack of sampling during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, current MERS-CoV diversity is poorly understood. Of 558 dromedary camel nasal swabs from Saudi Arabia, sampled November 2023 to January 2024, 39% were positive for MERS-CoV RNA by RT-PCR. We generated 42 MERS-CoV and seven human 229E-related CoV by high-throughput sequencing. For both viruses, the sequences fell into monophyletic clades apical to the most recent available genomes. The MERS-CoV sequences were most similar to those from lineage B5. The new MERS-CoVs sequences harbor unique genetic features, including novel amino acid polymorphisms in the Spike protein. The new variants require further phenotypic characterization to understand their impact. Ongoing MERS-CoV spillovers into humans pose significant public health concerns, emphasizing the need for continued surveillance and phenotypic studies.
- assay: DNA methylation
- research focus: host-pathogen & immune response
- research focus: variant calling
- research focus: variant effect prediction
- approach: experimental assay
- Citations
- 27
- FWCI
- 8.58
- Field percentile
- top 1%
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