Evolutionary Genomics Group, Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
Functional Genomics & Systems Biology Group, Department of Bioinformatics, Biocenter, Am Hubland, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Aug 14;23(16):9115. doi: 10.3390/ijms23169115.
After the recent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, unanswered questions remain related to its evolutionary history, path of transmission or divergence and role of recombination. There is emerging evidence on amino acid substitutions occurring in key residues of the receptor-binding domain of the spike glycoprotein in coronavirus isolates from bat and pangolins. In this article, we summarize our current knowledge on the origin of SARS-CoV-2. We also analyze the host ACE2-interacting residues of the receptor-binding domain of spike glycoprotein in SARS-CoV-2 isolates from bats, and compare it to pangolin SARS-CoV-2 isolates collected from Guangdong province (GD Pangolin-CoV) and Guangxi autonomous regions (GX Pangolin-CoV) of South China. Based on our comparative analysis, we support the view that the Guangdong Pangolins are the intermediate hosts that adapted the SARS-CoV-2 and represented a significant evolutionary link in the path of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus. We also discuss the role of intermediate hosts in the origin of Omicron.
自 SARS-CoV-2 感染出现以来，其进化史、传播途径或分化以及重组作用等方面仍存在许多未解之谜。目前有证据表明，在蝙蝠和穿山甲的冠状病毒分离株中，刺突糖蛋白受体结合域的关键残基发生了氨基酸取代。本文总结了我们目前对 SARS-CoV-2 起源的认识。我们还分析了蝙蝠来源的 SARS-CoV-2 分离株中刺突糖蛋白受体结合域与宿主 ACE2 相互作用的残基，并与来自中国南方广东省（GD Pangolin-CoV）和广西壮族自治区（GX Pangolin-CoV）的穿山甲 SARS-CoV-2 分离株进行了比较。基于我们的比较分析，我们支持这样一种观点，即广东穿山甲是适应 SARS-CoV-2 的中间宿主，并代表了 SARS-CoV-2 病毒传播途径中的一个重要进化环节。我们还讨论了中间宿主在奥密克戎起源中的作用。
