tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Acta Virol
. 2020 Sep 28.
doi: 10.4149/av_2020_302. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2: Zoonotic origin of pandemic coronavirus
S Vilcek
Abstract
A novel disease, of unknown origin, causing a deadly pneumonia of human patients was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. Later called COVID-19, it rapidly spread across China and worldwide. Intensive research revealed that the etiological agent of the global COVID-19 pandemic was a novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 genome contains typical coronavirus genes but the receptor binding domain (RBD) in the S protein is highly specific. The site for furin-like protease cleavage of the S protein into S1 and S2 subunits is also unique. Further analyses suggested that SARS-CoV-2 is of zoonotic origin. The analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, especially the S gene, shows that natural evolutionary process between a bat-CoV and a pangolin-CoV or other animal coronavirus could have been important in creating SARS-CoV-2, with transmission of novel virus to the human population. On the other hand, new analyses indicate that SARS-CoV-2 is not a recombinant virus. Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; genome; bat coronavirus; pangolin coronavirus.
. 2020 Sep 28.
doi: 10.4149/av_2020_302. Online ahead of print.
SARS-CoV-2: Zoonotic origin of pandemic coronavirus
S Vilcek
- PMID: 32985202
- DOI: 10.4149/av_2020_302
Abstract
A novel disease, of unknown origin, causing a deadly pneumonia of human patients was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. Later called COVID-19, it rapidly spread across China and worldwide. Intensive research revealed that the etiological agent of the global COVID-19 pandemic was a novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 genome contains typical coronavirus genes but the receptor binding domain (RBD) in the S protein is highly specific. The site for furin-like protease cleavage of the S protein into S1 and S2 subunits is also unique. Further analyses suggested that SARS-CoV-2 is of zoonotic origin. The analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, especially the S gene, shows that natural evolutionary process between a bat-CoV and a pangolin-CoV or other animal coronavirus could have been important in creating SARS-CoV-2, with transmission of novel virus to the human population. On the other hand, new analyses indicate that SARS-CoV-2 is not a recombinant virus. Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; genome; bat coronavirus; pangolin coronavirus.