Virus biology, host ecology, and human behaviour as determinants for coronaviral zoonoses

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Studies conducted in China in the aftermath of the SARS epidemic have identified diverse Coronaviruses in bats (Chiroptera), implicating this speciose mammalian order as the most likely origin and reservoir of all known coronaviruses. In addition to Coronaviruses, bats are increasingly recognized to harbor highly pathogenic viruses, including Filoviruses (Ebola- and Marburgvirus), Henipaviruses (Hendra- and Nipahvirus), and Lyssaviruses (Rabies and related viruses). Today we have no idea how transmission of bat-borne viruses to humans may occur. Little is known about the maintenance and amplification of viruses in bats. Furthermore, the molecular barriers against host switching are obscure. In this project we want to investigate in a tight German-Ghanaian collaboration the virus reservoir function of bats and the species barrier between bats and humans, using a Coronavirus model. Our working concept of the species barrier is two-partite, consisting of an ecological and a viroiogical component. We want to determine influence factors on bats that determine abundance and diversity of reservoir-borne Coronaviruses, to characterise ecological species barriers and Identify potential bat-to-human transmission pathways, and to develop an approach to experimental risk assessment of reservoir-borne viruses, focusing on their ability to enter human cells and to circumvent the human interferon defence. Through this project we will strengthen collaboration between Virology and Ecology in Germany and Ghana and improve the scientific environment for pre- and postgraduate scientists at our collaborating Institutions.