20/02/04 22:38:56 UcjJc5kG0.net
We are currently witnessing a major epidemic caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV). The evolution of 2019-nCoV remains elusive.
We found 4 insertions in the spike glycoprotein (S) which are unique to the 2019-nCoV and are not present in other coronaviruses.
Importantly, amino acid residues in all the 4 inserts have identity or similarity to those in the HIV- 1 gp120 or HIV-1 Gag.
Interestingly, despite the inserts being discontinuous on the primary amino acid sequence,
3D-modelling of the 2019-nCoV suggests that they converge to constitute the receptor binding site.
The finding of 4 unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV,
all of which have identity /similarity to amino acid residues in key structural proteins of HIV-1 is unlikely to be fortuitous in nature.
This work provides yet unknown insights on 2019-nCoV and sheds light on the evolution and
pathogenicity of this virus with important implications for diagnosis of this virus.
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