Alpha- and Beta-Coronaviruses in Humans and Animals: Taxonomy, Reservoirs, Hosts, and Interspecies Transmission

TL;DR

This paper reviews the taxonomy, natural reservoirs, and transmission mechanisms of alpha- and beta-coronaviruses, emphasizing their zoonotic potential and the importance of the One Health approach.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of CoV taxonomy, reservoirs, and interspecies transmission, emphasizing the One Health concept for integrated disease control.

Findings

Beta-coronaviruses like SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 have caused major human epidemics.

Interspecies transmission of coronaviruses is mediated by interactions between viral spike proteins and cellular receptors.

The One Health concept highlights the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health in controlling CoV infections.

Abstract

The Coronaviridae family represents a broad group of RNA-containing viruses that infect humans and animals. This family belongs to the order Nidovirales and is divided into four main genera: α-CoV, β-CoV, γ-CoV and δ-CoV. It is particularly noteworthy that representatives of β-CoV have caused serious epidemics in humans, such as the outbreaks of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. Although the clinical manifestations of CoVs can range from mild cold-like symptoms to severe respiratory diseases, they share common features in their structure, modes of transmission, and natural reservoirs. Identifying natural reservoirs, as well as establishing intermediate hosts, is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of interspecies transmission of CoVs. These processes are often mediated by molecular interactions between viral spike (S) proteins and cellular receptors of different species, which contribute to zoonotic outbreaks. Thus, the interaction of various species and the study of these processes of viral spread, cross-species transmission, and pathogen evolution play a key role in ensuring global biological safety. Therefore, we conducted this review to summarize the data from existing studies focused on the taxonomy of CoVs, their main types, natural reservoirs, intermediate hosts, pathways of interspecies transmission, and the significance of the One Health concept as an interdisciplinary approach to monitoring, prevention and control of CoV infections at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health. We examined databases such as PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify relevant scientific articles in English available for such a review. The aim of this work is to study the taxonomy and classification of coronaviruses, as well as to identify their natural reservoirs, intermediate hosts, and applicable control measures. A review of human and animal coronaviruses has revealed their evolutionary diversity, their main natural reservoirs, their intermediate hosts, and their interactions with cellular receptors. This information allows for a better understanding of the mechanisms by which the viruses are transmitted from animals to humans. The concept of One Health demonstrated the interconnections between human, animal and environmental factors.

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