RNA genome conservation and secondary structure in SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-related viruses: a first look.

ABSTRACT: As the COVID-19 outbreak spreads, there is a growing need for a compilation of conserved RNA genome regions in the SARS-CoV-2 virus along with their structural propensities to guide development of antivirals and diagnostics. Here we present a first look at RNA sequence conservation and structural propensities in the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Using sequence alignments spanning a range of betacoronaviruses, we rank genomic regions by RNA sequence conservation, identifying 79 regions of length at least 15 nt as exactly conserved over SARS-related complete genome sequences available near the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. We then confirm the conservation of the majority of these genome regions across 739 SARS-CoV-2 sequences subsequently reported from the COVID-19 outbreak, and we present a cura

SUBMITTER: Rangan R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7373990 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature