最新研究：新冠病毒譜系或已在蝙蝠中悄然傳播數十年

28日，學術期刊《自然-微生物學》發表的一份最新研究顯示，導致新冠肺炎的新型冠狀病毒SARS-CoV-2是由40至70年前與之最接近的蝙蝠病毒演化而來。

該研究團隊人員來自美國賓夕法尼亞州立大學、英國愛丁堡大學和中國香港大學等機構，他們根據現有的sarbecovirus基因組數據分析了SARS-CoV-2的演化歷史。SARS-CoV和SARS-CoV-2均屬於sarbecovirus亞屬。

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, that causes COVID-19, evolved from most closely related bat viruses 40 to 70 years ago, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology on Tuesday.

The study, led by researchers from the Pennsylvania State University, University of Edinburgh, and University of Hong Kong, analyzed the evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2 using available genomic data on sarbecoviruses, the viral subgenus that SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 belongs to.

研究人員發現，名為RaTG13的蝙蝠病毒基因序列和新冠病毒SARS-CoV-2基因序列高度相似，「基因組序列同一性約為96%」。兩者有共同的祖先，但在幾十年前出現了不同的進化路徑，研究人員估計SARS-CoV-2分別在1948年、1969年和1982年從蝙蝠病毒sarbecovirus中分化出來。

該研究的作者表示，基因序列的相似性表明「目前新冠肺炎疫情的暴發可能是由蝙蝠引起的」。這一發現意味著「產生SARS-CoV-2的病毒譜系可能已經在蝙蝠中悄無聲息地傳播了幾十年」。

They found that the sequence of a bat virus, known as RaTG13, was highly similar to that of the novel coronavirus, with &34; The two share a common single ancestral lineage, but subsequently took a different evolutionary pathway decades ago.

The genetic proximity tells that &34; said the authors, who discovered that the divergence dates between SARS-CoV-2 and the bat sarbecovirus reservoir were estimated as 1948, 1969 and 1982.

The findings indicate that &34;pointing to the scale and nature of the problems that zoonotic transmission presents to humans,&34;There may be numerous and as yet undetected viruses capable of infecting humans that reside in animal hosts.」

&39;s this generalist virus circulating in bats we need to get better at monitoring that,&34;adds to mounting evidence discrediting conspiracy theories that suggest SARS-CoV-2 was bio-engineered or escaped from a laboratory," The Telegraph reported citing the authors.