Bat virome

Common card · No. 396572

The bat virome is the group of viruses associated with bats. Bats host a diverse array of viruses, including all seven types described by the Baltimore classification system: (I) double-stranded DNA viruses; (II) single-stranded DNA viruses; (III) double-stranded RNA viruses; (IV) positive-sense RNA viruses; (V) negative-sense RNA viruses; (VI) positive-sense RNA viruses that replicate through a DNA intermediate; and (VII) double-stranded DNA viruses that replicate through a single-stranded RNA intermediate. The greatest share of bat-associated viruses identified as of 2020 are of type IV, in the family Coronaviridae. Bats harbor many viruses and a few of them are zoonotic, or capable of infecting humans and causing disease, thus, are considered important emerging viruses. These zoonotic viruses include the rabies virus, SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV, Marburg virus, Nipah virus, and Hendra virus. While research strongly indicates that SARS-CoV-2 originated in bats, it is unknown how it was transmitted...

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