Surveillance of coronaviruses in wild aquatic birds in Hong Kong: expanded genetic diversity and discovery of novel subgenus in the <i>Deltacoronavirus</i>.

ABSTRACT: Migratory birds may carry emerging viruses over long distances. Regular surveillance and metagenomic analysis were employed to explore the diversity of avian coronaviruses at Hong Kong's Mai Po Wetland. We tested a total of 3239 samples collected from 2018 to 2024, among which the prevalence rate of viruses of the genus Gammacoronavirus (64.4%) was higher than that of Deltacoronavirus (35.6%). The host species were identified for 79.8% of the coronavirus-positive samples. Two deltacoronaviruses with full-genome sequences and one nearly complete gammacoronavirus genome were identified in faecal samples of three bird species. We also predicted putative transcriptional regulatory sequences and 3CLpro and PLpro cleavage sites for these viruses. Results from our phylogenetic analy

SUBMITTER: Ng DYM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12262178 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature