Entry of Scotophilus Bat Coronavirus-512 and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus in Human and Multiple Animal Cells

Bats are natural reservoirs of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome CoV (MERS-CoV). Scotophilus bat CoV-512 demonstrates potential for cross-species transmission because its viral RNA and specific antibodies have been detected in three bat species of Taiwan. Understanding the cell tropism of Scotophilus bat CoV-512 is the first step for studying the mechanism of cross-species transmission. In this study, a lentivirus-based pseudovirus was produced using the spike (S) protein of Scotophilus bat CoV-512 or SARS-CoV as a surface protein to test the interaction between coronaviral S protein and its cell receptor on 11 different cells. Susceptible cells expressed red fluorescence protein (RFP) after the entry of RFP-bound green fluorescence protein (GFP)-fused S protein of Scotophilus bat CoV-512 (RFP-Sco-S-eGFP) or RFP-SARS-S pseudovirus, and firefly luciferase (FLuc) activity expressed by cells infected with FLuc-Sco-S-eGFP or FLuc-SARS-S pseudovirus was quantified. Scotophilus bat CoV-512 pseudovirus had significantly higher entry efficiencies in Madin Darby dog kidney epithelial cells (MDCK), black flying fox brain cells (Pabr), and rat small intestine epithelial cells (IEC-6). SARS-CoV pseudovirus had significantly higher entry efficiencies in human embryonic kidney epithelial cells (HEK-293T), pig kidney epithelial cells (PK15), and MDCK cells. These findings demonstrated that Scotophilus bat CoV-512 had a broad host range for cross-species transmission like SARS-CoV.