Unique and conserved features of genome and proteome of SARS-coronavirus, an early split-off from the coronavirus group 2 lineage

JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

卷:331

Article

Snijder, EJ ; Bredenbeek, PJ ; Dobbe, JC ; Thiel, V ; Ziebuhr, J ; Poon, LLM ; Guan, Y ; Rozanov, M ; Spaan, WJM ; Gorbalenya, AE

关键词: nidovirus;    genome organization;    subgenomic mRNA synthesis;    replicase;    RNA processing;   

DOI  :  10.1016/S0022-2836(03)00865-9

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The genome organization and expression strategy of the newly identified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) were predicted using recently published genome sequences. Fourteen putative open reading frames were identified, 12 of which were predicted to be expressed from a nested set of eight subgenomic mRNAs. The synthesis of these mRNAs in SARS-CoV-infected cells was confirmed experimentally. The 4382- and 7073 amino acid residue SARS-CoV replicase poly-proteins are predicted to be cleaved into 16 subunits by two viral proteinases (bringing the total number of SARS-CoV proteins to 28). A phylogenetic analysis of the replicase gene, using a distantly related torovirus as an outgroup, demonstrated that, despite a number of unique features, SARS-CoV is most closely related to group 2 coronaviruses. Distant homologs of cellular RNA processing enzymes were identified in group 2 coronaviruses, with four of them being conserved in SARS-CoV. These newly recognized viral enzymes place the mechanism of coronavirus RNA synthesis in a completely new perspective. Furthermore, together with previously described viral enzymes, they will be important targets for the design of antiviral strategies aimed at controlling the further spread of SARS-CoV. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free