Shifts in global bat diversity suggest a possible role of climate change in the emergence of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2

Bats are the likely zoonotic origin of several coronaviruses (CoVs) that infect humans, including SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2, both ofwhich have caused large-scale epidemics. The number of CoVs present in an area is strongly correlatedwith local bat species richness, which in turn is affected by climatic conditions that drive the geographical distributions of species. Herewe showthat the southern Chinese Yunnan province and neighbouring regions in Myanmar and Laos form a global hotspot of climate change-driven increase in bat richness. This region coincides with the likely spatial origin of bat-borne ancestors of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2. Accounting for an estimated increase in the order of 100 bat-borne CoVs across the region, climate change may have played a key role in the evolution or transmission of the two SARS CoVs. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Bats are likely the origin of several coronaviruses that infect humans, with climate change driving an increase in bat richness in regions such as southern China, Myanmar, and Laos, potentially playing a key role in the evolution or transmission of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2.