Eco-epidemiology of Coronaviruses, from wildlife to Human: Emergence threat assessment.. EPICOREM

The objective of the present proposal arises from the context of this investigation. We propose a horizontal study of coronaviruses - viruses with a high evolutive potential -, and their impact on different animal populations as potential sources of human infection. The primary aim of this project is a transversal investigation of the circulation, the diversity, and the transmission dynamics of coronaviruses in French territory, between the different ecosystems represented, from wildlife (bats, rodents, wild boar, lagomorphs), domestic carnivores (dogs, cats), livestock (cattle, horses, pigs, rabbits), and the avian reservoir to Human.The first goal is to measure the presence and the impact of coronaviruses in the different ecosystems shared by these viruses (seroprevalence, molecular detection, amplification in cell culture). The second is to perform a molecular and phylogenetic analysis of isolated cultures taken from different ecosystems. This task also includes the construction of an interactive and multicentric database allowing for storage and sharing of molecular and bioinformatic data from hosts identified in a precise manner, the importing of correctly annotated sequences from databases such as GenBank, phylogenetic analysis and the construction of trees, and the demonstration of divergent sequences. The third objective is to study the key factors of transmission: the maintaining of the infectivity of different matrices and the effect of different inactivation treatments, quantitative factors (viral loads in excretion routes, tissue distribution). Lastly, the project seeks to study the adaptation of coronaviruses under different evolutive constraints: selection pressure drugs and/ or vaccines, bottlenecks during transmission between individuals (culture modes in vitro and animal experiments).