A novel bat coronavirus reveals natural insertions at the S1/S2 cleavage site of the Spike protein and a possible recombinant origin of HCoV-19

Hong Zhou; Xing Chen; Tao Hu; Juan Li; Hao Song; Yanran Liu; Peihan Wang; Di Liu; Jing Yang; Edward C. Holmes; Alice C. Hughes; Yuhai Bi; Weifeng Shi

RaTG13 and HCoV-19 formed a well-supported sub-cluster distinct from the pangolin viruses 179 and southeast Asia. Generally, they do not migrate over long distances and are highly 186 gregarious such that they are likely to live in the same caves, which might facilitate the 187 exchange of viruses between them and the occurrence of recombination. Notably, RaTG13 188 was identified from anal swabs and RmYN02 was identified from feces, which is a simple, but 189 feasible way for bats to spread the virus to other animals, especially species that can utilize 190 cave environments. 191 192 Based on the currently available data we propose that HCoV-19 likely originates from multiple 193 author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.