Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Virion Structure and Mechanism of Propagation of Coronaviruses including SARS-CoV 2 (COVID -19 ) and some Meaningful Points for Drug or Vaccine Development

Version 1 : Received: 12 August 2020 / Approved: 14 August 2020 / Online: 14 August 2020 (08:26:31 CEST)

How to cite: Ghosh, S. Virion Structure and Mechanism of Propagation of Coronaviruses including SARS-CoV 2 (COVID -19 ) and some Meaningful Points for Drug or Vaccine Development. Preprints 2020, 2020080312. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202008.0312.v1 Ghosh, S. Virion Structure and Mechanism of Propagation of Coronaviruses including SARS-CoV 2 (COVID -19 ) and some Meaningful Points for Drug or Vaccine Development. Preprints 2020, 2020080312. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202008.0312.v1

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19, a new seventh human corona virus, has out-broken in Wuhan, China since 31st December 2019, and quickly escalated to take the form of pandemic which killed many human beings throughout almost all countries across continents. The rapidity of its transmission from human to human is far greater than all previous human corona viruses which came into existence like SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, etc. The nucleotide sequence of SARS-CoV-2 (isolates Wuhan-Hu-1) is 29,875 bp in ss-RNA. Symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infected pneumonia include from asymptomatic to high fever and/or respiratory illnesses. Coronavirus virion (spherical/round /elliptical in shape) consists of three parts- outer membrane or envelope, nucleocapsid and genome (RNA). SARS-CoV-2 was shown to use receptor, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for attachment to the cells through its surface spike (S) protein (S1), and the virion enters into the host cell through two routes- direct membrane fusion and endocytotic pathway. The RNA of SARS-CoV acts directly as mRNA and here minus(-) 1 programmed ribosomal frameshift (-1PRF) is being operated by slippery sequence and pseudoknot, so it translates 16 nonstructural proteins including RNA dependent RNA replicase. Then genomic RNA replicated continuously on – strand RNA template and subgenomic RNA transcribed discontinuously on –RNA template to sgmRNA. Subgenomic RNAs/sgmRNAs synthesize all structural proteins. This article takes into consideration the details of established theories of viral structure, viral attachment, mode of entry into human cells, different models of replication and transcription of virus genome proposed by eminent scientists over the years, and makes an in depth examination highlighting meaningful points or important target cites of viral propagation or synthesis, which are conserved, for prompt development of potent drugs or vaccine to counter COVID-19 for which human race is anxiously and eagerly waiting.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2(COVID-19); + ssRNA; ribosomal – framshift; Pseudoknot; replication; model; drug; vaccine

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

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