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SARS-CoV2, a threat to marine mammals? A study from Italian seawaters

Tania Audino, Carla Grattarola, Cinzia Centelleghe, Simone Peletto, Federica Giorda, Caterina Lucia Florio, Maria Caramelli, Maria Elena Bozzetta, Sandro Mazzariol, Giovanni Di Guardo, Giancarlo Lauriano, Cristina Casalone
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.29.437540
Tania Audino
*Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta
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Carla Grattarola
*Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta
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Cinzia Centelleghe
°Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Simone Peletto
*Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta
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Federica Giorda
*Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta
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Caterina Lucia Florio
*Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta
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Maria Caramelli
*Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta
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Maria Elena Bozzetta
*Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta
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Sandro Mazzariol
°Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Giovanni Di Guardo
§Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Italy
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Giancarlo Lauriano
+Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144, Rome, Italy
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  • For correspondence: cristina.casalone@izsto.it giancarlo.lauriano@isprambiente.it
Cristina Casalone
*Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte Liguria e Valle d’Aosta
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  • For correspondence: cristina.casalone@izsto.it giancarlo.lauriano@isprambiente.it
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Abstract

Zoonotically transmitted coronaviruses were responsible for three disease outbreaks since 2002, with the “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2” (SARS-CoV-2) causing the dramatic “Coronavirus Disease-2019” (CoViD-19) pandemic, which affected public health, economy, and society on a global scale. The impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic permeate into our environment and wildlife as well; in particular, concern has been raised about the viral occurrence and persistence in aquatic and marine ecosystems. The discharge of untreated wastewaters carrying infectious SARS-CoV-2 into natural water systems that are home of sea mammals may have dramatic consequences on vulnerable species.

The efficient transmission of coronaviruses raise questions regarding the contributions of virus-receptors interactions. The main receptor of SARS-CoV-2 is Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE-2), serving as a functional receptor for the viral spike (S) protein. This study was aimed, through the comparative analysis of the ACE-2 receptor with the human one, at assessing the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 of the different species of marine mammals living in Italian waters. We also determined, by means of immunohistochemistry, ACE-2 receptor localization in the lung tissue from different cetacean species, in order to provide a preliminary characterization of ACE-.2 expression in the marine mammals’ respiratory tract.

Furthermore, in order to evaluate if and how wastewater management in Italy may lead to susceptible marine mammal populations being exposed to the virus, geo-mapping data of wastewater plants, associated to the identification of specific stretches of coast more exposed to extreme weather events, overlapped to marine mammal population data, were carried out. Results showed the SARS-CoV-2 exposure for marine mammals inhabiting Italian coastal waters. Thus, we highlight the potential hazard of reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, along with its impact on marine mammals regularly inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea, whilst also stressing the need of appropriate action to prevent further damage to specific vulnerable populations.

Significance Statement Growing concern exists that SARS-CoV-2, as already ascertained for its SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV “predecessors”, originated from an animal “reservoir”, performing thereafter its spillover into mankind, that was possibly anticipated by viral “passage” into a secondary animal host. Within the dramatic SARS-CoV-2 pandemic context, hitherto characterized by over 110 million cases and almost 2,500,000 deaths on a global scale, several domestic and wild animal species have been reported as susceptible to natural and/or experimental SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this respect, while some marine mammal species are deemed as potentially susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection on the basis of the sequence homology of their ACE-2 viral receptor with the human one, this study addresses such a critical issue also in stranded sea mammal specimens.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Competing Interest Statement: the authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted March 29, 2021.
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SARS-CoV2, a threat to marine mammals? A study from Italian seawaters
Tania Audino, Carla Grattarola, Cinzia Centelleghe, Simone Peletto, Federica Giorda, Caterina Lucia Florio, Maria Caramelli, Maria Elena Bozzetta, Sandro Mazzariol, Giovanni Di Guardo, Giancarlo Lauriano, Cristina Casalone
bioRxiv 2021.03.29.437540; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.29.437540
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SARS-CoV2, a threat to marine mammals? A study from Italian seawaters
Tania Audino, Carla Grattarola, Cinzia Centelleghe, Simone Peletto, Federica Giorda, Caterina Lucia Florio, Maria Caramelli, Maria Elena Bozzetta, Sandro Mazzariol, Giovanni Di Guardo, Giancarlo Lauriano, Cristina Casalone
bioRxiv 2021.03.29.437540; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.29.437540

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