Ecology and Evolution of Coronaviruses: Implications for Human Health

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Background

Emerging coronaviruses have dramatically influenced human health. From the initial epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), to sporadic outbreaks of Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), to the pandemic of COVID-19, diseases caused by emerging coronaviruses have caused significant global morbidity and mortality. In order to prevent further pandemics, it is crucial to understand the evolution and ecology of coronaviruses, particularly how these factors relate to human health. While researchers have traced the origins and evolutionary dynamics of SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, many questions remained unanswered. It is our hope that teams of scientists, public health experts, veterinarians, and clinicians can help us better understand how the ecology and evolution of coronaviruses influence factors such as disease susceptibility and transmission. Such interdisciplinary One Health or Planetary Health models are needed to be able to predict and respond to emerging pathogens, of which coronaviruses pose a major threat.

We are interested in bridging the gap between evolutionary and ecological theories into direct implications for human health. For instance, while we know that ancestor viruses to SARS-CoV-2 likely originated in bats, how can we model and predict where novel coronaviruses may emerge in human populations? What are the relationships between reservoir and intermediate hosts and the possibility for recurrent spillover events? How are co-infections and exposure to cross-reactive viruses significant for human and animal health? How can we better understand and model the ecology of hospital-acquired coronavirus infections? How does pathogenicity of coronaviruses relate to evolutionary models? These are some of the many unanswered questions about coronaviruses and other emerging zoonotic viruses that could have important implications for pandemic preparedness and response.

We are interested in manuscripts relating to the ecology and evolution of emerging coronaviruses or related viruses and how these factors influence health. We are open to Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspectives. We hope to create a collection of studies from across disciplines, including virology, medicine, ecology, and public health. In particular, we seek manuscripts that combine approaches to answer questions with practical implications. For example, these would be studies that detect novel coronaviruses and identify the environments were spillover events may occur in order to prevent transmission events. Or these could be studies that model evolutionary relationships between coronaviruses to understand and predict modes of transmission. Overall, we value novel, team-based approaches to understanding emerging coronaviruses and their impact on health.

Keywords: coronavirus, ecology, evolution, transmission, viruses

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