Goharriz, HoomanWu, GuanghuiAmeh, Veronica O.Seekings, Amanda H.Amaya-Cuesta, JoanMcElhinney, Lorraine M.Sabeta, Claude Taurai2025-11-192025-11-192025-08-29Goharriz, H., Wu, G., Ameh, V.O. et al. 2025, 'Cross-neutralising antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in sera from straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) in Nigeria', BMC Veterinary Research, vol. 21, art. 530, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04938-y.1746-6148 (online)10.1186/s12917-025-04938-yhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/105365SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 1 : TABLE S1 : ssummary of top 50 SARS-CoV-2 Spike glycoprotein linear epitopes. Data were retrieved from the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) using the database query parameters: Epitope Structure: Linear Sequence, Organism: SARS-CoV-2 (ID: 2697049, SARS2), Antigen: Spike glycoprotein [P0DTC2] (SARS-CoV-2), and Include Positive Assays. The query results were exported using the “IEDB Website Displayed” export type on May 15, 2024. The retrieved epitopes were then sorted by the number of assays, and the top 50 were selected for screening. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 2: TABLE S2 : List of epitopes identified in all compared sequences. The table lists the epitopes identified in all compared sequences. Each epitope is uniquely identified by an IEDB ID from The Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) website ( https://www.iedb.org/) and classified according to a region of interest in the sequence. The functional region/domain within the spike is shown: spike subunit 2 (S2), fusion peptide 1 (FP 1), heptad repeat 1 (HR 1), heptad repeat 2 (HR 2), and transmembrane (TM). The number of independent assays confirming the epitope (# Assays) and the number of publications reporting the epitope with experimental data (# References) are also provided. The start and end positions of the epitope within the spike protein (UniProt P0DTC2 reference http://www.uiprot.org/uniprot/P0DTC2) are indicated. The epitope FKEELDKYFK was registered under two unique IDs, denoted by * for ID 2116377 and ** for ID 1397122.DATA AVAILABILITY : Partial genome sequence (93.75% genome coverage) was obtained by NGS and submitted to GenBank. The sequence data can be accessed under GenBank accession number PP860750.BACKGROUND : Straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) are widely distributed in Africa and are known reservoirs for viruses with zoonotic potential. These bats are widely hunted in West and Central Africa for human consumption as food source and medicine. This practice increases the potential for spillover of zoonotic disease to the human population. This study investigated the presence of neutralising antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants in serum samples (n = 142) from E. helvum bats captured between November 2017 and March 2019 in Makurdi, Nigeria. Faecal samples (n = 120) from the roost were collected in 2022 and screened for the presence of coronavirus RNA followed by genetic sequencing. RESULTS : Virus neutralisation tests revealed 7.04% of the bat sera neutralised 2019-nCoV/Italy-INMI1, while 17.57% of the bat sera neutralised a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 isolate. Partial genome obtained by next generation sequencing identified a lineage D Betacoronavirus from one faecal sample with 98.16% nucleotide sequence identity to sequences from Eidolon helvum collected in Cameroon in 2013. Epitope analysis of the spike protein sequence from the faecal sample showed conserved antigenic determinants shared with SARS-CoV-2. CONCLUSIONS : This study demonstrated that pre-pandemic sera collected from Eidolon helvum bats had neutralising activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Furthermore we detected the presence of lineage D betacoronavirus in this bat population that shared epitopes with SARS-CoV-2. This work contributes to our understanding of the complexities of coronavirus cross-reactivity. Characterizing bat coronaviruses is crucial to understand their zoonotic potential for spillover events due to bushmeat hunting practices.en© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License.Eidolon helvumBat coronavirusLineage D beta coronavirusSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Virus neutralisation testStraw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum)Article