According to a recent study, the combination of genetic mixing and evolutionary selection of nearly identical genetic sequences between bat- and pangolin-specific coronaviruses may have led to the evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
Analysis of 43 genomes from 3 SARS-CoV-2 strains including bat and pangolin coronaviruses suggests that genetic combination and selection drove the evolution of SARS-CoV-2, adapting binding to the crucial receptor of the pangolin virus.
Zoonosis
Zoonotic diseases are those diseases or infections whose initial vectors are animals and that can be transmitted between different host species and between individuals of the same. For example, the famous avian flu, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow). This is also the case with SARS-CoV-2. Not in vain, More than 75 % of emerging diseases originate in animals. At least 10 outbreaks in the past century have spread to humans from mammals such as bats, birds and pigs.
The results of the study, in addition to what was said, also showed that the receptor binding motif (RBM) of the virus, a component that plays a key role in the entry of the virus into host cells, was introduced through recombination with pangolin coronaviruses.
According to the authors of the study, the proximity of different species in a humid environment such as a market, for example, pcan increase the potential for cross-infection between species, by allowing recombination between more distant coronaviruses and the appearance of mutations. Well, evolutionary selection and frequent recombination between bat, pangolin, and human coronaviruses may have allowed closely related viruses to easily jump between species.
Thus, although the precise origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains unknown, this study reflects that direct human contact with wild animals should be reduced or eliminated to prevent new coronavirus zoonoses in the future. Continued surveillance of coronaviruses in their natural hosts and in humans will be key to rapid control of new coronavirus outbreaks.
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The news
These are the results of an analysis of 43 genomes of 3 strains of SARS-CoV-2
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.