French scientists have discovered coronaviruses that are genetically similar to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which has caused the Covid-19 pandemic, in northern Laos in Southeast Asia. They did not rule out the possibility that these viruses could infect humans in a way similar to the first strains of the coronavirus.
The researchers, led by Dr. Marc Elois of the Pasteur Institute in Paris and published in the journal Nature, examined a sample of 645 bats belonging to six families and 46 species of bats living in white limestone. .
Thus, three hitherto unknown viruses have been found that have a close genetic affinity for SARS-CoV-2. The scientists found that the part of the genome of these viruses that encodes and regulates the binding sites to the protein ACE2 (the human cell receptor that is the gateway for the coronavirus to the body) is exactly the same as that of SARS-CoV-2.
In fact, these bat viruses are able to bind to human ACE2 receptors even more effectively than the original SARS-CoV-2 strain isolated to humans in Wuhan, China, which can only be a source of concern for the future. One of the three new bat coronaviruses was also found in the laboratory to be able to reproduce in human cells, although it appeared to be “inhibited” by antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2.
The researchers added that the findings support the hypothesis that the Covid-19 coronavirus may have originated from bats that live in caves in Southeast Asia and southern China.
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