Pre-pandemic artificial MERS analog of polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus

Abstract Objectives SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein furin cleavage site is a key determinant of SARS-CoV-2 virulence and COVID-19 pathogencity. Located at the S1/S2 junction, it is unique among sarbecoviruses but frequently found among betacoronaviruses. Recent evidence suggests that this site inc...

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Main Author: Andreas Martin Lisewski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-12-01
Series:BMC Genomic Data
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-024-01290-2
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author Andreas Martin Lisewski
author_facet Andreas Martin Lisewski
author_sort Andreas Martin Lisewski
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objectives SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein furin cleavage site is a key determinant of SARS-CoV-2 virulence and COVID-19 pathogencity. Located at the S1/S2 junction, it is unique among sarbecoviruses but frequently found among betacoronaviruses. Recent evidence suggests that this site includes two additional functional motifs: a pat7 nuclear localization signal and two flanking O-glycosites. However, a systematic genus and subgenus analysis of spike protein sequences bearing this polyfunctional sequence domain has been missing. Data description Here we report comprehensive sequence data to demonstrate that among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus and outside of the SARS-CoV-2 clade a fully analogous S1/S2 domain was found in only one other virus: the artificial MERS infectious clone MERS-MA30, described already in 2017, which was rationally selected from serial passage in genetically humanized mice. As the evolutionarily closest betacoronaviruses outside of the SARS-CoV-2 clade lack all its three functional motifs, these data extend—beyond natural evolution and zoonosis—the current view on SARS-CoV-2 pre-pandemic origins by presenting the analogous S1/S2 MERS-MA30 sequence domain as a precise molecular blueprint for SARS-CoV-2.
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spelling doaj-art-940ffe1cb384484cb796e8ce40d6006c2025-08-20T02:40:18ZengBMCBMC Genomic Data2730-68442024-12-012511410.1186/s12863-024-01290-2Pre-pandemic artificial MERS analog of polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus BetacoronavirusAndreas Martin Lisewski0School of Science, Constructor UniversityAbstract Objectives SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein furin cleavage site is a key determinant of SARS-CoV-2 virulence and COVID-19 pathogencity. Located at the S1/S2 junction, it is unique among sarbecoviruses but frequently found among betacoronaviruses. Recent evidence suggests that this site includes two additional functional motifs: a pat7 nuclear localization signal and two flanking O-glycosites. However, a systematic genus and subgenus analysis of spike protein sequences bearing this polyfunctional sequence domain has been missing. Data description Here we report comprehensive sequence data to demonstrate that among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus and outside of the SARS-CoV-2 clade a fully analogous S1/S2 domain was found in only one other virus: the artificial MERS infectious clone MERS-MA30, described already in 2017, which was rationally selected from serial passage in genetically humanized mice. As the evolutionarily closest betacoronaviruses outside of the SARS-CoV-2 clade lack all its three functional motifs, these data extend—beyond natural evolution and zoonosis—the current view on SARS-CoV-2 pre-pandemic origins by presenting the analogous S1/S2 MERS-MA30 sequence domain as a precise molecular blueprint for SARS-CoV-2.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-024-01290-2GenomicsDirected evolutionArtificial virus hostBetacoronavirusFurin cleavage siteNuclear localization signal
spellingShingle Andreas Martin Lisewski
Pre-pandemic artificial MERS analog of polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus
BMC Genomic Data
Genomics
Directed evolution
Artificial virus host
Betacoronavirus
Furin cleavage site
Nuclear localization signal
title Pre-pandemic artificial MERS analog of polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus
title_full Pre-pandemic artificial MERS analog of polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus
title_fullStr Pre-pandemic artificial MERS analog of polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus
title_full_unstemmed Pre-pandemic artificial MERS analog of polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus
title_short Pre-pandemic artificial MERS analog of polyfunctional SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus Betacoronavirus
title_sort pre pandemic artificial mers analog of polyfunctional sars cov 2 s1 s2 furin cleavage site domain is unique among spike proteins of genus betacoronavirus
topic Genomics
Directed evolution
Artificial virus host
Betacoronavirus
Furin cleavage site
Nuclear localization signal
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-024-01290-2
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