The Importance of Research on the Origin of SARS-CoV-2

The origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been fully determined. Despite the consensus about the SARS-CoV-2 origin from bat CoV RaTG13, discrepancy to host tropism to other human Coronaviruses exist. SARS-CoV-2 also...

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Veröffentlicht in:Viruses 2020-10, Vol.12 (11), p.1203
Hauptverfasser: Lundstrom, Kenneth, Seyran, Murat, Pizzol, Damiano, Adadi, Parise, Mohamed Abd El-Aziz, Tarek, Hassan, Sk. Sarif, Soares, Antonio, Kandimalla, Ramesh, Tambuwala, Murtaza M., Aljabali, Alaa A. A., Kumar Azad, Gajendra, Pal Choudhury, Pabitra, Uversky, Vladimir N., Sherchan, Samendra P., Uhal, Bruce D., Rezaei, Nima, Brufsky, Adam M.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been fully determined. Despite the consensus about the SARS-CoV-2 origin from bat CoV RaTG13, discrepancy to host tropism to other human Coronaviruses exist. SARS-CoV-2 also possesses some differences in its S protein receptor-binding domain, glycan-binding N-terminal domain and the surface of the sialic acid-binding domain. Despite similarities based on cryo-EM and biochemical studies, the SARS-CoV-2 shows higher stability and binding affinity to the ACE2 receptor. The SARS-CoV-2 does not appear to present a mutational “hot spot” as only the D614G mutation has been identified from clinical isolates. As laboratory manipulation is highly unlikely for the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the current possibilities comprise either natural selection in animal host before zoonotic transfer or natural selection in humans following zoonotic transfer. In the former case, despite SARS-CoV-2 and bat RaTG13 showing 96% identity some pangolin Coronaviruses exhibit very high similarity to particularly the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2. In the latter case, it can be hypothesized that the SARS-CoV-2 genome has adapted during human-to-human transmission and based on available data, the isolated SARS-CoV-2 genomes derive from a common origin. Before the origin of SARS-CoV-2 can be confirmed additional research is required
ISSN:1999-4915
1999-4915
DOI:10.3390/v12111203