Avian pathology : journal of the W.V.P.A
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Coronaviruses (CoVs) mainly cause enteric and/or respiratory signs. Mammalian CoVs including COVID-19 (now officially named SARS-CoV-2) belong to either the Alphacoronavirus or Betacoronavirus genera. In birds, the majority of the known CoVs belong to the Gammacoronavirus genus, whilst a small number are classified as Deltacoronaviruses. ⋯ Whilst there is strong evidence for recombination between gammacoronaviruses of different avian species, and between betacoronaviruses in different mammals, evidence of recombination between coronaviruses of different genera is lacking. Furthermore, the recombination of an alpha or betacoronavirus with a gammacoronavirus is extremely unlikely. For recombination to happen, the two viruses would need to be present in the same cell of the same animal at the same time, a highly unlikely scenario as they cannot replicate in the same host!