Avoiding a local wildlife reservoir of SARS‐CoV‐2 in Belgium.

SARS‐CoV‐2 has its origin in an Asian bat species, but it is now clear that it can infect various unrelatedmammal species in addition to humans. Given the circulation of the virus among humans, they maytransmit it to wildlife; should this happen, a new reservoir may emerge that will be extremely difficultto control. This should be avoided, but it is not yet clear which naturally occurring species in Belgiumare susceptible to the virus.Virus entry in a host cell happens through binding to the ACE2 protein, and is further facilitated by thehost's furin and TMPRSS2 proteases; these proteins occur in all species, but their sequences (and thusthe structural properties that are required for interaction with the virus) may differ, and thatdetermines whether the host is susceptible to infection. To determine which species possibly canbecome infected, we will determine the sequences of the involved genes for the different Belgianmammal species. In collaboration with the protein specialists of the Department of PharmaceuticalSciences we will map the possible structural and functional implications of variations in amino acidsequences and on this basis evaluate which native mammals potentially could become a reservoir.Based on this, specific measures can then be developed to avoid the creation of such a reservoir.

Keywords:COVID-19, RECEPTOR PROTEINS, MAMMALS

Disciplines:Evolutionary biology not elsewhere classified, Infectious diseases