Hybrid genome assembly of the widespread bat Rhinolophus lepidus provides insights into susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and climate change threat.

ABSTRACT: Bats are known reservoirs for many viruses of zoonotic potential and can tolerate or clear infections efficiently. They are important hosts for multiple coronaviruses and harbour ancestral lineages of coronaviruses known to cause diseases in both humans and animals. In this study, we describe a high-quality hybrid genome assembly of the Blyth's horseshoe bat Rhinolophus lepidus. It is a widespread species and an important cell-line model system for studying virus entry and replication. We used a combination of short Illumina reads and long reads from Oxford Nanopore to assemble the genome, with N50 of 5.3 Mb and Benchmarking Universial Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) score of ~94%. The Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor responsible for the entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome cor

SUBMITTER: Garg KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12203556 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature