20.500.12556/RUL-188040 Coronavirus surveillance in passerines reveals novel deltacoronaviruses in Eurasian tree sparrows with implications for One Health and livestock biosecurity Coronaviruses (CoVs) are widespread RNA viruses infecting a broad range of avian and mammalian hosts. Although gammacoronaviruses and deltacoronaviruses (DCoVs) are common in wild birds, their presence in Eurasian passerines remains poorly understood. We screened 243 birds (35 species) at migratory stopover sites in Slovenia (2020 2021) using pan-coronavirus RT-PCR. Coronavirus RNA was detected only in four Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus). Whole-genome sequencing yielded genomes of 26,017–26,018 bp with high internal conservation (99.95–99.98% identity). Phylogenetic analysis revealed notable evolutionary incongruence: isolates were highly related to porcine DCoVs in the ORF1ab region (95.6–96.1% amino acid identity) but clustered with divergent avian DCoVs in the spike gene (75.7–76.8% identity). RDP5 analysis provided strong evidence for a large-scale recombination event (p = 1.17 × 10–43), consistent with a mosaic genomic architecture combining an ORF1ab region closely related to porcine DCoVs with an avian-associated spike gene. This genomic pattern highlights evolutionary connectivity among DCoVs associated with different host groups and the potential role of recombination in changes in host association. The synanthropic behaviour and mobility of P. montanus facilitate contact with diverse hosts, making this species relevant for investigating DCoV ecology at wildlife–livestock interfaces. These findings represent the first genomic characterisation of DCoVs in P. montanus in Europe and support the inclusion of passerines in broader coronavirus surveillance. Genomic surveillance of underrepresented wild-bird hosts can improve our under- standing of DCoV diversity, recombination, and evolution across wildlife–livestock interfaces. Passer montanus Deltacoronavirus viral recombination Passer montanus Deltacoronavirus virusna rekombinacija true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-09-18 04:29:57 2026-09-18 10:22:22 2026-09-19 04:29:50 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 9 str. Vol. 23, art. 101560 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 636.09:578.834 2352-7714 10.1016/j.onehlt.2026.101560 291415555 Coronavirus_surveillance-Vengust.pdf Coronavirus_surveillance-Vengust.pdf 1 BCB422C53AA6BA7E1C64B2135D098347 e0ca7401002b3f39f62642f606d17a3cf7ec7e4c3ef2f55763c7b626205f551a fd501895-b339-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=248119 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771426002442?via%3Dihub 1 d40fc74e-b308-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=248033 Veterinarska fakulteta 0 0 0