Survey of white-footed mice in Connecticut, USA reveals low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and infection with divergent betacoronaviruses

Earnest, R.; Hahn, A. M.; Feriancek, N. M.; Brandt, M.; Filler, R. B.; Zhao, Z.; Breban, M. I.; Vogels, C. B. F.; Chen, N. F. G.; Koch, R. T.; Porzucek, A. J.; Sodeinde, A.; Garbiel, A.; Keanna, C.; Litwak, H.; Stuber, H. R.; Cantoni, J. L.; Pitzer, V. E.; Olarte Castillo, X. A.; Goodman, L. B.; Wilen, C. B.; Linske, M. A.; Williams, S. C.; Grubaugh, N. D.

doi:10.1101/2023.09.22.559030

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.09.22.559030

Survey of white-footed mice in Connecticut, USA reveals low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and infection with divergent betacoronaviruses

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Abstract

Diverse mammalian species display susceptibility to and infection with SARS-CoV-2. Potential SARS-CoV-2 spillback into rodents is understudied despite their host role for numerous zoonoses and human proximity. We assessed exposure and infection among white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in Connecticut, USA. We observed 1% (6/540) wild-type neutralizing antibody seroprevalence among 2020-2022 residential mice with no cross-neutralization of variants. We detected no SARS-CoV-2 infections via RT-qPCR, but identified non-SARS-CoV-2 betacoronavirus infections via pan-coronavirus PCR among 1% (5/468) of residential mice. Sequencing revealed two divergent betacoronaviruses, preliminarily named Peromyscus coronavirus-1 and -2. Both belong to the Betacoronavirus 1 species and are [~]90% identical to the closest known relative, Porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus. Low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence suggests white-footed mice may not be sufficiently susceptible or exposed to SARS-CoV-2 to present a long-term human health risk. However, the discovery of divergent, non-SARS-CoV-2 betacoronaviruses expands the diversity of known rodent coronaviruses and further investigation is required to understand their transmission extent.

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Earnest, R., Hahn, A. M., Feriancek, N. M., Brandt, M., Filler, R. B., Zhao, Z., Breban, M. I., Vogels, C. B. F., Chen, N. F. G., Koch, R. T., Porzucek, A. J., Sodeinde, A., Garbiel, A., Keanna, C., Litwak, H., Stuber, H. R., Cantoni, J. L., Pitzer, V. E., Olarte Castillo, X. A., Goodman, L. B., Wilen, C. B., Linske, M. A., Williams, S. C., Grubaugh, N. D.. 2023-09-25. Survey of white-footed mice in Connecticut, USA reveals low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and infection with divergent betacoronaviruses. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.22.559030

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