Image: By Johan Spaedtke - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26954959
The Porcine
deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), identified in 2012, is a common enteropathogen of
swine with worldwide distribution. The evolutionary cycle/origin of this virus
is still unknown. The PDCoV has
predominantly been associated with avian CoV. Analysis suggests that PDCoV has experienced
a host-switching event between birds and mammals.
The porcine
deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) (species name coronavirus HKU15) was identified in
Hong Kong in pigs in the late 2000s and
has since been detected in swine populations in various countries worldwide
(Wentao, et al., 2018). The virus can cause acute diarrhea and vomiting, and
can sometimes be fatal.
Due to the presumed origin in avian
species and the known cross-species transmission of CoVs, researchers began to
investigate the susceptibility of cell lines other than swine to this PDCoV
infection. They began to test cell lines derived from human and galline tissues.
They found both were susceptible to PDCoV infection
“Successful cross-species
transmission depends foremost on the virus’ ability to bind and functionally
use a receptor within an alternative host, causing the S protein to be the
driver of CoV emergence” (Wentao, et. al, 2018). Due to the fact that pigs are
the second largest global livestock species, and the potential for them to
spread zoonotic diseases; this study sheds light on the importance of further study.
To read the
FULL STUDY on this research please follow the link at PNAS here: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1802879115
Reference:
Wentao Li, Ruben J. G. Hulswit, Scott P. Kenney, Ivy
Widjaja, Kwonil Jung, Moyasar A. Alhamo, Brenda van Dieren, Frank J. M. van
Kuppeveld, Linda J. Saif, and Berend-Jan Bosch, 2018. Broad receptor engagement
of an emerging global coronavirus may potentiate its diverse cross-species
transmissibility
