Detection of novel coronaviruses from dusky fruit bat (Penthetor lucasi) in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Background: Sarawak has one of the highest diversity of fruit bats species (family Pteropodidae) in Malaysia, with 19 species described. Most coronavirus (CoV) studies have mainly focused on insectivorous bats, resulting in a lack of information on CoVs present in frugivorous bats. In addition, bat CoV surveillance activities are lacking in Malaysia. Objectives: Our study focuses on determining the presence of bat CoVs in dusky fruit bat (Penthetor lucasi). Methods: Guano samples belonging to P. lucasi were collected from Wind Cave Nature Reserve. The samples were screened for the presence of CoVs using validated heminested consensus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase consensus primers. Results: The bat CoV positivity rate was 38.5% (n = 15/39), with the viruses belonging to two subgenera: Alphacoronavirus (α-CoV) and betacoronavirus (β-CoV). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CoVs from 14 samples of P. lucasi belong to the genus α-CoV and may represent previously described genetic lineages in insectivorous bats in Wind Cave. However, only one sample of P. lucasi was detected with β-CoV which is closely related to subgenus Nobecovirus, which is commonly seen in frugivorous bats. Conclusions: This study provides the first available data on CoVs circulating in P. lucasi

Small Mammals from Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Small mammal survey was conducted at Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary (WS) from 20th until 25th October 2014. This survey aimed to assess the diversity of small mammals particularly from the order Chiroptera, Insectivora, Rodentia and Scadentia. These orders were targeted primarily to gain better understanding on the ecology and distribution of these understudied taxa in Borneo. Our survey recorded a total of 30 species of small mammals from six trapping nights. Order Chiroptera was recorded with the highest number of species (seven families; 22 species), followed by order Rodentia (two families; six species) and order Scandentia (two species). None was recorded from the order Insectivora. The most abundant species were Rhinolophus trifoliatus (n=6) for Chiroptera, Maxomys whiteheadi (n=7) for Rodentia and Tupaia tana (n=5) for Scandentia. Data presented here is the first comprehensive information on Samunsam’s small mammals. This data can be used to gain better insights on the population trends at regional and local scale, as well as in improving the management plans of Samunsam WS. Although species diversity in Samunsam WS is comparable to other sites in western Sarawak, result presented here need to be treated with caution as this is the first comprehensive study that only cover area close to park headquarters

Identification of genetic lesions in the ribosomal protein gene, RPL41 from human nasopharyngeal derived cell lines

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is associated with three RP genes, namely RPL27, RPL37a and RPL41 that were significantly downregulated in all cell lines derived from NPC tissues when compared with nonmalignant nasopharyngeal epithelial cell lines. However, there is no report on RPL41 genes in human nasopharyngeal tissue. The objective of this study is to investigate the correlation between NPC and RPL41 gene sequence using nom1al and tumour cell lines derived from nasopharyngeal tissues. Total RNA of cell lines were used as the starting material and were transcribed into cDNA using M-MLV transcriptase. The 227 bp RPL41 gene was successfully amplified by polymerase chain reaction and was subsequently purified and sent for sequencing. The result shows that there is no nucleotide variation been observed in the coding sequences of RPL41 among these cell lines

Serosurveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals in Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic betacoronavirus that was first reported at the dawn of 2019 in Wuhan, China and has since spread globally, causing an ongoing pandemic. Anthroponotic transmission was reported early, with confirmed infections reported in 26 species to date, including dogs and cats. However, there is a paucity of reports on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to companion animals, and thus, we aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in dogs and cats in Sarawak, Malaysia. From August 2022 to 2023, we screened plasma samples of 172 companion animals in Sarawak, Malaysia, using a species-independent surrogate virus neutralization test. Our findings revealed the presence of neutralizing antibodies of SARS-CoV-2 in 24.5% (27/110) of dogs and 24.2% (15/62) of cats. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals in Malaysia. Our findings emphasize the need for pet owners to distance themselves from their pets when unwell, and a strategy must be in place to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals to assess the potential impact of the virus on companion animals

Serosurveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals in Sarawak, Malaysia

SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic betacoronavirus that was first reported at the dawn of 2019 in Wuhan, China and has since spread globally, causing an ongoing pandemic. Anthroponotic transmission was reported early, with confirmed infections reported in 26 species to date, including dogs and cats. However, there is a paucity of reports on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to companion animals, and thus, we aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in dogs and cats in Sarawak, Malaysia. From August 2022 to 2023, we screened plasma samples of 172 companion animals in Sarawak, Malaysia, using a species-independent surrogate virus neutralization test. Our findings revealed the presence of neutralizing antibodies of SARS-CoV-2 in 24.5% (27/110) of dogs and 24.2% (15/62) of cats. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals in Malaysia. Our findings emphasize the need for pet owners to distance themselves from their pets when unwell, and a strategy must be in place to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals to assess the potential impact of the virus on companion animals

Small mammals from Miri, northeastern region of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo: note on new locality records

Small mammal surveys were conducted at Niah National Park, Lambir Hills National Park and Gunung Mulu National Park, Miri Division, in the northeastern region of Sarawak, using ground-level and canopy mist-nets, harp traps, and cage traps. The main objective of these surveys was to assess small mammal diversity in the northeastern region of Sarawak. Gunung Mulu National Park recorded the highest diversity of small mammals with 29 species, followed by Niah National Park with 19 species, and Lambir Hills National Park, 17 species. These surveys revealed nine new locality records for Miri, including eight bat species (Dyacopterus spadiceus, Megaerops wetmorei, Nycteris tragata, Hipposideros cineraceus, Hesperoptenus blanfordi, Kerivoula pellucida, Murina suilla and Myotis muricola)and a squirrel (Sundasciurus brookei). Megaerops wetmorei is also reported for the first time in Sarawak

The systematic position of Hypsugo macrotis (Chiroptera : Vespertilionidae) and a new record from Peninsular Malaysia

The Southeast Asian species of Hypsugo are rare bats, except for H. cadornae and H. pulveratus, which are distributed throughout the Indomalayan region. Hypsugo macrotis is restricted to Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and adjacent islands, and is known only from a handful of specimens. Here we report a new locality record of the species from Serem-ban, Peninsular Malaysia, which also represents the first known building-dweller colony of any Hypsugo from the region. We discuss the taxonomic status of two morphologically similar species, H. macrotis and H. vordermanni, and provide the first COI and cyt b gene sequences for H. macrotis and reconstruct the species' phylogenetic relationships