Rooting the phylogenetic tree of middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus by characterization of a conspecific virus from an African bat.

Unlabelled: The emerging Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes lethal respiratory infections mainly on the Arabian Peninsula. The evolutionary origins of MERS-CoV are unknown. We determined the full genome sequence of a CoV directly from fecal material obtained from a South African Neoromicia capensis bat (NeoCoV).