How and Why Overcome the Impediments to Resolution: Lessons from rhinolophid and hipposiderid Bats

Foley, Nicole M.; Thong, Vu Dinh; Soisook, Pipat; Goodman, Steven M.; Armstrong, Kyle N.; Jacobs, David S.; Puechmaille, Sébastien J.; Teeling, Emma C.

Since the outbreak of SARS in 2003 in China, there has been a surge of interest in understanding the evolution and the emergence of this deadly coronavirus (Balboni et al. 2012) . Research arising from the outbreak has identified bats as a likely natural reservoir for several zoonotic viruses, including SARS-like coronavirus Calisher et al. 2006; Anthony et al. 2013; Chan et al. 2013; Luis et al. 2013 ). Among bats, the Rhinolophidae are of particular interest because R. sinicus, R. pusillus, R. macrotis, and R. ferrumequinum were suspected to be directly implicated in the outbreak of SARS in China (Lau et al. 2005; Li et al. 2005; Anthony et al. 2013) , and since then, a wider diversity of coronaviruses has been described from the Rhinolophidae Ren et al. 2006; Woo et al. 2006; Cui et al. 2007; Drexler et al. 2010; Rihtaric et al. 2010; Yuan et al. 2010) . Recent research has provided evidence to support that Rhinolophidae are a likely natural reservoir of the SARS-CoV (Ge et al. 2013) . Betacoronaviruses-b, from the SARS group, have also been found in the close relatives of the Rhinolophidae, Hipposideros larvatus (Ar MBE coronaviruses-like SARS-CoV and more recently Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have brought into sharp focus the potential health risks arising from the emergence of novel coronaviruses and further highlight the importance of their efficient detection and monitoring.