Evaluating the transmission feasibility of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant to 143 mammalian hosts: insights from S protein RBD and host ACE2 interaction studies

Samanta, Arijit; Alam, Syed Sahajada Mahafujul; Ali, Safdar; Hoque, Mehboob

doi:10.1007/s10142-023-00962-z

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

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“…Supporting this, recent research has shown that Omicron's (B.1.1.529) ACE2 binding affinity is greater in a number of wildlife species compared to humans, including whitefooted mice, red fox, two marmot species, and five marsupial species 37 . Another possibility is that some RNA detections do not reflect active infections, but rather recent exposure to another infected animal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Widespread exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife communities

Goldberg

Langwig

Marano

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The spillover of SARS-CoV-2 into humans has caused one of the most devastating pandemics in recorded history. Human-animal interactions have led to transmission events of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to wild and captive animals. However, many questions remain about how extensive SARS-CoV-2 exposure is in wildlife, the factors that influence wildlife transmission risk, and whether sylvatic cycles can generate novel variants with increased infectivity and virulence. We sampled 18 different wildlife species in the Eastern U.S. and detected widespread exposure to SARS-CoV-2 across wildlife species. Using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and whole genome sequencing, we conclusively detected SARS-CoV-2 in the Virginia opossum and had equivocal detections in six additional species. Species considered human commensals like squirrels, and raccoons had high seroprevalence, ranging between 62%-71%, and sites with high human use had three times higher seroprevalence than low human-use areas. SARS-CoV-2 genomic data from an infected opossum and molecular modeling exposed previously uncharacterized changes to amino acid residues observed in the receptor binding domain (RBD), which predicts improved binding between the spike protein and human angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) compared to the dominant variant circulating at the time of isolation. These mutations were not identified in human samples at the time of collection. Overall, our results highlight widespread exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife and suggest that areas with high human activity may serve as important points of contact for cross-species transmission. Furthermore, this work highlights the potential role of wildlife in fuelingde novomutations that may eventually appear in humans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%