Reviewing findings on the polypeptide sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 S-protein to discuss the origins of the virus

Alberto Maria Cattaneo

doi:10.2217/fvl-2021-0233

Reviewing findings on the polypeptide sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 S-protein to discuss the origins of the virus

Future Virol. 2022 Mar;0(0):10.2217/fvl-2021-0233. doi: 10.2217/fvl-2021-0233. Epub 2022 Apr 5.

Author

Alberto Maria Cattaneo^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Chemical Ecology Group, Lomma, Box 190 234 22, Sweden.
² University of Lausanne, Center for Integrative Genomics, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland.

Abstract

Several investigations suggested origins of SARS-CoV-2 from the recombination of coronaviruses of various animals, including the bat Rhinolophus affinis and the pangolin Manis javanica, despite the processes describing the adaptation from a reservoir of animals to human are still debated. In this perspective, I will remark two main inconsistencies on the origins of SARS-CoV-2: polypeptide sequence alignment of the S-proteins does not return the expected identity of the receptor-binding motif among most of pangolin-CoVs and SARS-CoV-2; accurate referencing for samplings and sequencing deposition of the ancestral bat coronavirus named RaTG13 was missing since the first reports on the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This contribution aims to stimulate discussion about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and considers other intermediate hosts as a reservoir for coronavirus.

Keywords: RaTG13; S-protein; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; polypeptide sequence alignment; receptor-binding motif.

Publication types

Review