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Infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and its alpha variant in pregnant white-tailed deer

Konner Cool, Natasha N. Gaudreault, Igor Morozov, Jessie D. Trujillo, David A. Meekins, Chester McDowell, Mariano Carossino, Dashzeveg Bold, Taeyong Kwon, Velmurugan Balaraman, Daniel W. Madden, Bianca Libanori Artiaga, Roman M. Pogranichniy, Gleyder Roman Sosa, Jamie Henningson, William C. Wilson, Udeni B. R. Balasuriya, Adolfo García-Sastre, View ORCID ProfileJuergen A. Richt
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.15.456341
Konner Cool
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Natasha N. Gaudreault
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Igor Morozov
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Jessie D. Trujillo
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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David A. Meekins
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Chester McDowell
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Mariano Carossino
bLouisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
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Dashzeveg Bold
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Taeyong Kwon
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Velmurugan Balaraman
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Daniel W. Madden
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Bianca Libanori Artiaga
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Roman M. Pogranichniy
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Gleyder Roman Sosa
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Jamie Henningson
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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William C. Wilson
cNational Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, United States Department of Agriculture, Manhattan, KS, USA
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Udeni B. R. Balasuriya
bLouisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
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Adolfo García-Sastre
dDepartment of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
eGlobal Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
fDepartment of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
gThe Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
hDepartment of Pathology, Molecular and Cell-Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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Juergen A. Richt
aDepartment of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
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  • ORCID record for Juergen A. Richt
  • For correspondence: jricht@ksu.edu
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Abstract

SARS-CoV-2, a novel Betacoronavirus, was first reported circulating in human populations in December 2019 and has since become a global pandemic. Recent history involving SARS-like coronavirus outbreaks (SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV) have demonstrated the significant role of intermediate and reservoir hosts in viral maintenance and transmission cycles. Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 natural infection and experimental infections of a wide variety of animal species has been demonstrated, and in silico and in vitro studies have indicated that deer are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are amongst the most abundant, densely populated, and geographically widespread wild ruminant species in the United States. Human interaction with white-tailed deer has resulted in the occurrence of disease in human populations in the past. Recently, white-tailed deer fawns were shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. In the present study, we investigated the susceptibility and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in adult white-tailed deer. In addition, we examined the competition of two SARS-CoV-2 isolates, representatives of the ancestral lineage A (SARS-CoV-2/human/USA/WA1/2020) and the alpha variant of concern (VOC) B.1.1.7 (SARS-CoV-2/human/USA/CA_CDC_5574/2020), through co-infection of white-tailed deer. Next-generation sequencing was used to determine the presence and transmission of each strain in the co-infected and contact sentinel animals. Our results demonstrate that adult white-tailed deer are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and can transmit the virus through direct contact as well as vertically from doe to fetus. Additionally, we determined that the alpha VOC B.1.1.7 isolate of SARS-CoV-2 outcompetes the ancestral lineage A isolate in white-tailed deer, as demonstrated by the genome of the virus shed from nasal and oral cavities from principal infected and contact animals, and from virus present in tissues of principal infected deer, fetuses and contact animals.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted August 16, 2021.
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Infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and its alpha variant in pregnant white-tailed deer
Konner Cool, Natasha N. Gaudreault, Igor Morozov, Jessie D. Trujillo, David A. Meekins, Chester McDowell, Mariano Carossino, Dashzeveg Bold, Taeyong Kwon, Velmurugan Balaraman, Daniel W. Madden, Bianca Libanori Artiaga, Roman M. Pogranichniy, Gleyder Roman Sosa, Jamie Henningson, William C. Wilson, Udeni B. R. Balasuriya, Adolfo García-Sastre, Juergen A. Richt
bioRxiv 2021.08.15.456341; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.15.456341
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Infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and its alpha variant in pregnant white-tailed deer
Konner Cool, Natasha N. Gaudreault, Igor Morozov, Jessie D. Trujillo, David A. Meekins, Chester McDowell, Mariano Carossino, Dashzeveg Bold, Taeyong Kwon, Velmurugan Balaraman, Daniel W. Madden, Bianca Libanori Artiaga, Roman M. Pogranichniy, Gleyder Roman Sosa, Jamie Henningson, William C. Wilson, Udeni B. R. Balasuriya, Adolfo García-Sastre, Juergen A. Richt
bioRxiv 2021.08.15.456341; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.15.456341

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