A novel fingerprint map for detecting SARS-CoV.

Spike (S) protein is the most important membrane protein on the surface of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). It associates with cellular receptors to mediate infection of their target cells. Inspired by such a mechanism, an in-depth investigation into the genome sequences of S protein of SARS-CoV and its receptor are conducted thru a mathematical transformation and graphic approach. As an outcome, a novel method for visualizing the characteristic of SARS-CoV is suggested. An extensive comparison among a large number of genome sequences has proved that the characteristic thus revealed is unique for SARS-CoV. As such, the characteristic can be regarded as the fingerprint map of SARS-CoV for diagnostic usage. Moreover, the conclusion has been further supported in a real case in Guangdong province of China. The fingerprint map proposed here has the merits of clear visibility and reliability that can serve as a complementary clinical tool for detecting SARS-CoV, particularly for the cases where the results obtained by the conventional methods are uncertain or conflicted with each other.