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Journal of Proteome Research

As scientists scramble to learn more about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, two recent studies of the virus鈥� genome reached controversial conclusions: namely, that snakes are intermediate hosts of the new virus, and that a key coronavirus protein shares 鈥渦ncanny similarities鈥� with an HIV-1 protein. Now, a study in ACS鈥� Journal of Proteome Research refutes both ideas and suggests that scaly, anteater-like animals called pangolins are the missing link for SARS-CoV-2 transmission between bats and humans.

Understanding where SARS-CoV-2 鈥撯€撀爐he virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic 颅鈥撯€� came from and how it spreads is important for its control and treatment. Most experts agree that bats are a natural reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, but an intermediate host was needed for it to jump from bats to humans. A recent study that analyzed the new virus鈥� genome suggested snakes as this host, despite the fact that coronaviruses are only known to infect mammals and birds. Meanwhile, an unrelated study compared the sequence of the spike protein 鈥撯€撀燼 key protein responsible for getting the virus into mammalian cells 鈥撯€撀爋f the new coronavirus to that of HIV-1, noting unexpected similarities. Although the authors withdrew this preprint manuscript after scientific criticism, it spawned rumors and conspiracy theories that the new coronavirus could have been engineered in a lab. Yang Zhang and colleagues wanted to conduct a more careful and complete analysis of SARS-CoV-2 DNA and protein sequences to resolve these issues.

Compared to the previous studies, the researchers used larger data sets and newer, more accurate bioinformatics methods and databases to analyze the SARS-CoV-2 genome. They found that, in contrast to the claim that four regions of the spike protein were uniquely shared between SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1, the four sequence segments could be found in other viruses, including bat coronavirus. After uncovering an error in the analysis that suggested snakes as an intermediate host, the team searched DNA and protein sequences isolated from pangolin tissues for ones similar to SARS-CoV-2. The researchers identified protein sequences in sick animals鈥� lungs that were 91% identical to the human virus鈥� proteins. Moreover, the receptor binding domain of the spike protein from the pangolin coronavirus had only five amino acid differences from SARS-CoV-2, compared with 19 differences between the human and bat viral proteins. This evidence points to the pangolin as the most likely intermediate host for the new coronavirus, but additional intermediate hosts could be possible, the researchers say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the , the , the and the .

The American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS鈥� mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The 中国365bet中文官网 is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical聽Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder^庐聽and STN^庐), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS鈥� main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.