Identifying SARS-CoV-2 related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins.

Lam, Tommy Tsan-Yuk; Shum, Marcus Ho-Hin; Zhu, Hua-Chen; Tong, Yi-Gang; Ni, Xue-Bing; Liao, Yun-Shi; Wei, Wei; Cheung, William Yiu-Man; Li, Wen-Juan; Li, Lian-Feng; Leung, Gabriel M; Holmes, Edward C; Hu, Yan-Ling; Guan, Yi

The ongoing outbreak of viral pneumonia in China and beyond is associated with a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-21. 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 infection2. Although bats are likely reservoir hosts for SARS-CoV-2, the identity of any intermediate host that might have facilitated transfer to humans is unknown. Here, we report the identification of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins (Manis javanica) seized in anti-smuggling operations in southern China. Metagenomic sequencing identified pangolin-associated coronaviruses that belong to two sub-lineages of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses, including one that exhibits strong similarity to SARS-CoV-2 in the receptor-binding domain. The discovery of multiple lineages of pangolin coronavirus and their similarity to SARS-CoV-2 suggests that pangolins should be considered as possible hosts in the emergence of novel coronaviruses and should be removed from wet markets to prevent zoonotic transmission.