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Literature detail

Composition and divergence of coronavirus spike proteins and host ACE2 receptors predict potential intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2.

Zhixin Liu1,2 Xiao Xiao1 Xiuli Wei1 Jian Li1 Jing Yang1 Huabing Tan1 Jianyong Zhu1 Qiwei Zhang3,4 Jianguo Wu2,3 Long Liu1
Affiliations 4 institutions
  1. Department of Respiratory, Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China.
  2. State Key Laboratory of Virology and College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
  3. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Virology, Institute of Medical Microbiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
  4. School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
PMID 32100877 2020 J Med Virol eng ppublish
PubMed DOI Browse context

Article

Publication summary

From the beginning of 2002 and 2012, severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) crossed the species barriers to infect humans, causing thousands of infections and hundreds of deaths, respectively. Currently, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which has become the cause of the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), was discovered. Until 18 February 2020, there were 72 533 confirmed COVID-19 cases (including 10 644 severe cases) and 1872 deaths in China. SARS-CoV-2 is spreading among the public and causing substantial burden due to its human-to-human transmission. However, the intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 is still unclear. Finding the possible intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 is imperative to prevent further spread of the epidemic. In this study, we used systematic comparison and analysis to predict the interaction between the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of coronavirus spike protein and the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The interaction between the key amino acids of S protein RBD and ACE2 indicated that, other than pangolins and snakes, as previously suggested, turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii, Chelonia mydas, and Pelodiscus sinensis) may act as the potential intermediate hosts transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to humans.

angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) receptor-binding domain (RBD) of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S) Pandemics Amino Acid Sequence Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 Animals Betacoronavirus Binding Sites China Chiroptera Coronavirus Infections COVID-19 Eutheria Humans Models, Molecular

Structured evidence records

Evidence records

4 total
Cross Species Transmission 1 records
Cross Species Transmission Extraction confidence 0.75
Key finding

Computational analysis suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may be able to pass between non-human hosts such as pangolins, snakes, and turtles based on spike protein–ACE2 compatibility, indicating potential cross-species transmission among these animals.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

The interaction between the key amino acids of S protein RBD and ACE2 indicated that, other than pangolins and snakes, as previously suggested, turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii, Chelonia mydas, and Pelodiscus sinensis) may act as the potential intermediate hosts transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to humans.

Method
sequence comparison; protein interaction analysis; ACE2 receptor-binding modeling
Study design
computational analysis
Transmission direction
animal-to-animal
Genomic Evolution 1 records
Genomic Evolution Extraction confidence 0.90
Key finding

Comparative genomic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain and ACE2 sequences suggested that three turtle species could be potential intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

We used systematic comparison and analysis to predict the interaction between the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of coronavirus spike protein and the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The interaction between the key amino acids of S protein RBD and ACE2 indicated that, other than pangolins and snakes, turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii, Chelonia mydas, and Pelodiscus sinensis) may act as the potential intermediate hosts transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to humans.

Genes or proteins
spike protein; receptor-binding domain (RBD); ACE2
Analysis methods
sequence alignment; comparative analysis; phylogenetic analysis
Molecular Adaptation 1 records
Molecular Adaptation Extraction confidence 0.85
Key finding

Interaction analysis of key amino acids in the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain and ACE2 receptor suggests spike-ACE2 binding adaptation that could enable infection of turtle species.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Host
Not specified
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

We used systematic comparison and analysis to predict the interaction between the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of coronavirus spike protein and the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The interaction between the key amino acids of S protein RBD and ACE2 indicated that turtles may act as the potential intermediate hosts transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to humans.

Genes or proteins
spike protein; receptor-binding domain (RBD)
Receptors
ACE2
Mechanism types
receptor_binding; host_factor_interaction
Receptor Usage 1 records
Receptor Usage Extraction confidence 0.95
Key finding

SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD was analyzed for binding compatibility with ACE2 from multiple animal hosts, indicating that ACE2 from several turtle species could potentially mediate SARS-CoV-2 entry.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

We used systematic comparison and analysis to predict the interaction between the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of coronavirus spike protein and the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The interaction between the key amino acids of S protein RBD and ACE2 indicated that, other than pangolins and snakes, turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii, Chelonia mydas, and Pelodiscus sinensis) may act as the potential intermediate hosts transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to humans.

Method
sequence comparison; molecular interaction prediction
Receptors
ACE2