Identifying the Zoonotic Origin of SARS-CoV-2 by Modeling the Binding Affinity between the Spike Receptor-Binding Domain and Host ACE2.

ABSTRACT: Despite considerable research progress on SARS-CoV-2, the direct zoonotic origin (intermediate host) of the virus remains ambiguous. The most definitive approach to identify the intermediate host would be the detection of SARS-CoV-2-like coronaviruses in wild animals. However, due to the high number of animal species, it is not feasible to screen all the species in the laboratory. Given that binding to ACE2 proteins is the first step for the coronaviruses to invade host cells, we propose a computational pipeline to identify potential intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 by modeling the binding affinity between the Spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) and host ACE2. Using this pipeline, we systematically examined 285 ACE2 variants from mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians, and found th

SUBMITTER: Huang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7770890 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature