Broad Host Range of SARS-CoV-2 Predicted by Comparative and Structural Analysis of ACE2 in Vertebrates

Joana Damas; Graham M. Hughes; Kathleen C. Keough; Corrie A. Painter; Nicole S. Persky; Marco Corbo; Michael Hiller; Klaus-Peter Koepfli; Andreas R. Pfenning; Huabin Zhao; Diane P. Genereux; Ross Swofford; Katherine S. Pollard; Oliver A. Ryder; Martin T. Nweeia; Kerstin Lindblad-Toh; Emma C. Teeling; Elinor K. Karlsson; Harris A. Lewin

All chiropterans (bats) scored low (N=8) or very low (N=29) (Fig. 1) , including the Chinese rufous horseshoe bat ( Rhinolophus sinicus ), from which a coronavirus very similar to SARS-CoV-2 was identified (1) . Only 7.7% (3/39) primate species' ACE2 scored low or very low, and 61% of rodent species scored low (10/46) or very low (18/46) . All monotremes (N=1) and marsupials (N=4) scored very low . All birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles scored very low , with less than 18/25 ACE2 residues identical to the human and many non-conservative residues at the remaining non-identical sites (Dataset S1). Notable species scoring very low include the Chinese pangolin ( Manis pentadactyla ), Sunda pangolin ( Manis javanica ), and white-bellied pangolin ( Phataginus tricuspis ) (Fig. 1 , Dataset S1).