Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute recently discovered essential structural similarities between a pangolin coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2 that suggested that the former virus mentioned could impact humans.
According to a report from News Medical, while SARS-CoV-2 is believed to have "evolved from a bat coronavirus, its exact evolutionary path remains a mystery.
Revealing its history is challenging as there are possibly a lot of undiscovered bat coronaviruses. Because of differences between SARS-CoV-2 and bat coronaviruses, it is believed that the virus may have transferred to humans through at least one other type.
Spike Protein Structures Compared
In their research that came out in Nature Communications, the researchers compared the structures of the spike proteins that existed on SARS-CoV-2, the most similar presently identified bat coronavirus RaTG13, and a coronavirus isolated from Malayan pangolins, which the authorities seized after they got smuggled to China.
As a result, the scientists discovered that the pangolin virus was able to attach to receptors from both humans and pangolins. Such an occurrence differs to the bat coronavirus, which could not bind effectively with either pangolin or human receptors.
Postdoctoral training fellow in the Structural Biology of Disease Processes Laboratory at Crick, Antoni Wrobel, also the study's co-lead author said, by "testing the spike protein f a given virus can bind with cell receptors from different species," they could see, if theoretically, the virus could infest such a species.
Essentially here, the co-lead author explained, they've shown two key findings. First, the bat virus "would unlikely be able to infest pangolins." And second, that "a pangolin virus could possibly infest people."
Use of Cryo-Electron Microscopy
The research team used "cyro-electron microscopy" to reveal in just a minute the structure of a spike protein of the pangolin coronavirus, which is accountable for attaching to and infecting cells.
While some parts of the pangolin coronavirus' spike were found to be remarkably similar to SARS-CoV-2, other areas were found to have differed.
When it comes to an understanding of the evolutionary trail of SARS-CoV-2, this study does not validate whether or not the pangolin coronavirus is certainly part of the chain of evolution for this virus that causes COVID-19.
However, study findings indeed back several possible scenarios for how the coronavirus was transferred from bats to humans.
One probable route is that SARS-CoV-2 came from a different, presently unidentified bat coronavirus that could infect pangolins, and from these species, it was then transferred to humans.
Bat Coronavirus RaTG13
As indicated in the research, RaTG13, on the other hand, or a similar bat coronavirus, might have combined with another coronavirus "in a different intermediate species," aside from a pangolin.
Postdoctoral training fellow in the Structural Biology of Disease Processes Laboratory at the Crick Donald Benton said they still do not have evidence to verify the evolutionary trail of SARS-CoV-2 "to prove definitely that this virus indeed transmits through pangolins to humans.
Nevertheless, Benton, also the co-lead author of the study, added, they have exhibited that a pangolin virus could possibly jump to humans. Thus, they urge warning in any "contact with the species and the end of illegal smuggling and trade in pangolins" to shield from such a risk.
In addition, the Structural Biology of Disease Processes Laboratory at the Crick group leader Steve Gamblin said, many are still to be revealed about the evolution of SARS CoV-2. However, the more is known about its history and in what species it was passed through, the more they "understand about how it works" and how it may continue evolving.
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