RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Mutations, Recombination and Insertion in the Evolution of 2019-nCoV
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.02.29.971101
DO 10.1101/2020.02.29.971101
A1 Aiping Wu
A1 Peihua Niu
A1 Lulan Wang
A1 Hangyu Zhou
A1 Xiang Zhao
A1 Wenling Wang
A1 Jingfeng Wang
A1 Chengyang Ji
A1 Xiao Ding
A1 Xianyue Wang
A1 Roujian Lu
A1 Sarah Gold
A1 Saba Aliyari
A1 Shilei Zhang
A1 Ellee Vikram
A1 Angela Zou
A1 Emily Lenh
A1 Janet Chen
A1 Fei Ye
A1 Na Han
A1 Yousong Peng
A1 Haitao Guo
A1 Guizhen Wu
A1 Taijiao Jiang
A1 Wenjie Tan
A1 Genhong Cheng
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/03/02/2020.02.29.971101.abstract
AB Background The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2) has spread more rapidly than any other betacoronavirus including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. However, the mechanisms responsible for infection and molecular evolution of this virus remained unclear.Methods We collected and analyzed 120 genomic sequences of 2019-nCoV including 11 novel genomes from patients in China. Through comprehensive analysis of the available genome sequences of 2019-nCoV strains, we have tracked multiple inheritable SNPs and determined the evolution of 2019-nCoV relative to other coronaviruses.Results Systematic analysis of 120 genomic sequences of 2019-nCoV revealed co-circulation of two genetic subgroups with distinct SNPs markers, which can be used to trace the 2019-nCoV spreading pathways to different regions and countries. Although 2019-nCoV, human and bat SARS-CoV share high homologous in overall genome structures, they evolved into two distinct groups with different receptor entry specificities through potential recombination in the receptor binding regions. In addition, 2019-nCoV has a unique four amino acid insertion between S1 and S2 domains of the spike protein, which created a potential furin or TMPRSS2 cleavage site.Conclusions Our studies provided comprehensive insights into the evolution and spread of the 2019-nCoV. Our results provided evidence suggesting that 2019-nCoV may increase its infectivity through the receptor binding domain recombination and a cleavage site insertion.One Sentence Summary Novel 2019-nCoV sequences revealed the evolution and specificity of betacoronavirus with possible mechanisms of enhanced infectivity.