Alert!! The Genome of Wuhan Coronavirus Is Now Finally Deciphered!! Bats Are Not the Only Player!!


On January 30,2020, a very recent study published in The lancet found that 2019 Wuhan coronavirus is a new human-infecting coronavirus strain that is genetically different from human SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which killed more than 348 people in China in 2003, and MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) that emerged in the Middle East in 2012. 

Researchers in this study thought that bats, which is sold in the Wuhan market, may be the source of the new virus. Yet, they do not also exclude the possibility of an intermediate host that enables the virus to jump from animals to humans.

Although 2019 Wuhan coronavirus is most closely related to bat coronavirus strains, several facts suggest that another animal is considered as an intermediate host between bats and humans. 


Firstly, the outbreak was first reported in late December, 2019, when most bat species in Wuhan are hibernating. Secondly, no bats were sold or found at the Wuhan market, whereas various non-aquatic animals (including mammals) were available for purchase. Lastly, the sequence identity between 2019 Wuhan coronavirus and its close relatives bat coronavirus strains was less than 90%, which is reflected in the relatively long branch between them.



The team collected samples from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and cultured isolates from nine patients. Scientists found that the ten genome sequences of 2019 Novel Wuhan Coronavirus obtained from the nine patients were extremely similar, showing more than 99·98% sequence identity.

They also found that the current coronavirus strain samples were more distant from SARS-CoV (about 79%) and the MERS-CoV (about 50%). 

According to this very recent study, scientists suggest that the Wuhan coronavirus more likely came from bats and may be transmitted to humans via a currently unknown wild animal sold at the Wuhan market.






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