Interspecies transmission of SARS CoV-2 with special emphasis on viral mutations and ACE-2 receptor homology roles

Mervat E Hamdy; Ayman H El Deeb; Naglaa M Hagag; Momtaz A Shahein; Osama Alaidi; Hussein A Hussein

doi:10.1080/23144599.2023.2222981

Interspecies transmission of SARS CoV-2 with special emphasis on viral mutations and ACE-2 receptor homology roles

Int J Vet Sci Med. 2023 Jul 10;11(1):55-86. doi: 10.1080/23144599.2023.2222981. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mervat E Hamdy¹, Ayman H El Deeb^{2

3}, Naglaa M Hagag¹, Momtaz A Shahein⁴, Osama Alaidi^{5

6

7}, Hussein A Hussein²

Affiliations

¹ Genome Research Unit, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.
² Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
³ Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, King Salman International University, South Sinai, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Virology, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.
⁵ Biocomplexity for Research and Consulting Co., Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
⁷ Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.

Abstract

COVID-19 outbreak was first reported in 2019, Wuhan, China. The spillover of the disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), to a wide range of pet, zoo, wild, and farm animals has emphasized potential zoonotic and reverse zoonotic viral transmission. Furthermore, it has evoked inquiries about susceptibility of different animal species to SARS-CoV-2 infection and role of these animals as viral reservoirs. Therefore, studying susceptible and non-susceptible hosts for SARS-CoV-2 infection could give a better understanding for the virus and will help in preventing further outbreaks. Here, we review structural aspects of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the effect of the different mutations observed in the spike protein, and the impact of ACE2 receptor variations in different animal hosts on inter-species transmission. Moreover, the SARS-CoV-2 spillover chain was reviewed. Combination of SARS-CoV-2 high mutation rate and homology of cellular ACE2 receptors enable the virus to transcend species barriers and facilitate its transmission between humans and animals.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; and ACE2; mutations; spike; spillover.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Science, Technology & Innovation Funding Authority (STIFA) under grant number 44585.