Identification of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins in southern China

Lam, T. T.-Y.; Shum, M. H.-H.; Zhu, H.-C.; Tong, Y.-G.; Ni, X.-B.; Liao, Y.-S.; Wei, W.; Cheung, W. Y.-M.; Li, W.-J.; Li, L.-F.; Leung, G. M.; Holmes, E. C.; Hu, Y.-L.; Guan, Y.

doi:10.1101/2020.02.13.945485

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.02.13.945485

Identification of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins in southern China

Lam, T. T.-Y.·Shum, M. H.-H.·Zhu, H.-C.·Tong, Y.-G.·Ni, X.-B.·Liao, Y.-S.·Wei, W.·Cheung, W. Y.-M.·Li, W.-J.·Li, L.-F.·Leung, G. M.·Holmes, E. C.·Hu, Y.-L.·Guan, Y.

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Abstract

The ongoing outbreak of viral pneumonia in China and beyond is associated with a novel coronavirus, provisionally termed 2019-nCoV. This outbreak has been tentatively associated with a seafood market in Wuhan, China, where the sale of wild animals may be the source of zoonotic infection. Although bats are likely reservoir hosts for 2019-nCoV, the identity of any intermediate host facilitating transfer to humans is unknown. Here, we report the identification of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses in pangolins (Manis javanica) seized in anti-smuggling operations in southern China. Metagenomic sequencing identified pangolin associated CoVs that belong to two sub-lineages of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses, including one very closely related to 2019-nCoV in the receptor-binding domain. The discovery of multiple lineages of pangolin coronavirus and their similarity to 2019-nCoV suggests that pangolins should be considered as possible intermediate hosts for this novel human virus and should be removed from wet markets to prevent zoonotic transmission.

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Lam, T. T.-Y., Shum, M. H.-H., Zhu, H.-C., Tong, Y.-G., Ni, X.-B., Liao, Y.-S., Wei, W., Cheung, W. Y.-M., Li, W.-J., Li, L.-F., Leung, G. M., Holmes, E. C., Hu, Y.-L., Guan, Y.. 2020-02-18. Identification of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins in southern China. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.13.945485

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