Abstract
There has been limited characterisation of bat-borne coronaviruses in Europe. Here, we screened for coronaviruses 48 faecal samples from 16 of the 17 bat species breeding in the UK and collected through a bat rehabilitation and conservationist network. We recovered nine (two novel) complete genomes across six bat species: four alphacoronaviruses, a MERS-related betacoronavirus, and four closely-related sarbecoviruses. We demonstrate that at least one of these sarbecoviruses can bind and use the human ACE2 receptor for infecting human cells, albeit suboptimally. Additionally, the spike proteins of these sarbecoviruses possess an R-A-K-Q motif, which lies only one nucleotide mutation away from a furin cleavage site (FCS) that enhances infectivity in other coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. However, mutating this motif to an FCS does not enable spike cleavage. Overall, while UK sarbecoviruses would require further molecular adaptations to infect humans, their zoonotic risk is unknown but warrants closer surveillance.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Viral metagenomics and additional analyses are presented
