Identification of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins in southern China

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, provisionally termed 2019-nCoV. 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 infection. Although bats are likely reservoir hosts for 2019-nCoV, the identity of any intermediate host facilitating transfer to humans is unknown. Here, we report the identification of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses in pangolins (Manis javanica) seized in anti-smuggling operations in southern China. Metagenomic sequencing identified pangolin associated CoVs that belong to two sub-lineages of 2019-nCoV related coronaviruses, including one very closely related to 2019-nCoV in the receptor-binding domain. The discovery of multiple lineages of pangolin coronavirus and their similarity to 2019-nCoV suggests that pangolins should be considered as possible intermediate hosts for this novel human virus and should be removed from wet markets to prevent zoonotic transmission.