Preprint Article Version 2 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Structural Similarity Analysis of Spike Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and Other SARS-related Coronaviruses

Version 1 : Received: 26 March 2020 / Approved: 27 March 2020 / Online: 27 March 2020 (11:37:06 CET)
Version 2 : Received: 9 April 2020 / Approved: 9 April 2020 / Online: 9 April 2020 (09:59:37 CEST)

How to cite: Park, Y.; Ahn, J.W.; Hwang, S.; Sung, K.S.; Lim, J.; Kwack, K. Structural Similarity Analysis of Spike Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and Other SARS-related Coronaviruses. Preprints 2020, 2020030409. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0409.v2 Park, Y.; Ahn, J.W.; Hwang, S.; Sung, K.S.; Lim, J.; Kwack, K. Structural Similarity Analysis of Spike Proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and Other SARS-related Coronaviruses. Preprints 2020, 2020030409. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0409.v2

Abstract

Objectives Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has high infectivity in humans, attributed to the strong affinity of its spike (S) protein to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Here, we analyzed the structural similarity of the S protein between SARS-CoV-2 and other SARS-related coronaviruses (CoVs). Methods We performed multiple alignment analysis of nine amino acid sequences of CoV S proteins from NCBI with MAFFT web-based software, followed by phylogeny analysis. Three-dimensional structure modeling was performed by SWISS-MODEL. We calculated the template modeling score between the S protein of SARS-CoV-2 and that of other SARS-related CoVs. Results The S1 domain of the unclassified CoV RaTG13 (the host of which is the intermediate horseshoe bat) was structurally very similar to that of SARS-CoV-2, implying that RaTG13 could be the origin of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the folding property of the entire S protein was nearly the same between SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 after the PRRA amino acid insertion was removed from SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions RaTG13 could have a high binding affinity to ACE2, similar to SARS-CoV-2, and it is therefore highly likely to infect other animals. Therefore, massive research and monitoring of CoVs in animals is necessary to prevent future COVID-19-like disasters.

Keywords

angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; SARS-CoV-2; spike protein; COVID-19

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

Comments (1)

Comment 1
Received: 9 April 2020
Commenter: KyuBum Kwack
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author
Comment: Changed article type from brief report to full article. Additional result was included.
+ Respond to this comment

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 1
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.