Characterization and evolutionary history of novel SARS-CoV-2-related viruses in bats from Cambodia
Nature Communications·
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41467-026-75954-1
- PMID
- 42642437
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7170186476
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The authors frame the findings as highlighting zoonotic risk and the need for ongoing surveillance at animal-to-human interfaces to support pandemic preparedness.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study investigates the genetic diversity, evolutionary dynamics, and zoonotic potential of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses circulating in bat populations in Cambodia.
Study design
This is a multi-year field sampling study combining metatranscriptomic and amplicon sequencing of bat specimens, with pseudovirus assays used to assess receptor-binding functionality.
Population and setting
The study sampled 1,462 bats over more than three years in Steung Treng province, Cambodia, with sarbecoviruses identified across multiple Rhinolophus species.
Main findings
Thirty-three complete sarbecovirus genomes were recovered and grouped into four distinct lineages associated with different Rhinolophus hosts. Two of these lineages carried receptor-binding domains with high similarity to SARS-CoV-2, and pseudovirus assays demonstrated spike-mediated entry into human ACE2-expressing cells. Evidence of rapid lineage migration and recombination over short geographic and temporal scales was also reported.
Public-health relevance
The authors frame the findings as highlighting zoonotic risk and the need for ongoing surveillance at animal-to-human interfaces to support pandemic preparedness.
Important limitations
The summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is required to assess sample representativeness, methodological detail, and decision-grade interpretation. The abstract does not explicitly list study limitations.
GIDS interpretation
Within GIDS, this article is discoverable as a Cambodia-focused One Health surveillance study on bat sarbecoviruses relevant to SARS and COVID-19. The abstract does not link the findings to any active surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 9 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.