RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Mutation in position of 32 (G>U) of S2M differentiate human SARS-CoV2 from Bat Coronavirus
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.09.02.280529
DO 10.1101/2020.09.02.280529
A1 Majid Vahed
A1 Mohammad Vahed
A1 Aaron Sweeney
A1 Farshad H Shirazi
A1 Mehdi Mirsaeidi
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/08/2020.09.02.280529.abstract
AB The new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a zoonotic pathogen that has rapidly mutated and become transmissible to humans. There is little existing data on the mutations in SARS-CoV-2 and the impact of these polymorphisms on its transmission and viral load. In this study, the SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequence was analyzed to identify variants within the 3’UTR region of its cis-regulatory RNA elements. A 43-nucleotide genetic element with a highly conserved stem-loop II-like motif (S2M), was discovered. The research revealed 32 G>U and 16 G>U/A mutations located within the S2M sequence in human SARS-CoV-2 models. These polymorphisms appear to make the S2M secondary and tertiary structures in human SARS-CoV-2 models less stable when compared to the S2M structures of bat/pangolin models. This grants the RNA structures more flexibility, which could be one of its escape mechanisms from host defenses or facilitate its entry into host proteins and enzymes. While this S2M sequence may not be omnipresent across all human SARS-CoV-2 models, when present, its sequence is always highly conserved. It may be used as a potential target for the development of vaccines and therapeutic agents.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.