SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: Viral Genomics, Epidemiology, Vaccines, and Therapeutic Interventions

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is due to infection caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus that impacts the lower respiratory tract. The spectrum of symptoms ranges from asymptomatic infections to mild respiratory symptoms to the lethal form of COVID-19 which is associated with severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, and fatality. To address this global crisis, up-to-date information on viral genomics and transcriptomics is crucial for understanding the origins and global dispersion of the virus, providing insights into viral pathogenicity, transmission, and epidemiology, and enabling strategies for therapeutic interventions, drug discovery, and vaccine development. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive overview of COVID-19 epidemiology, genomic etiology, findings from recent transcriptomic map analysis, viral-human protein interactions, molecular diagnostics, and the current status of vaccine and novel therapeutic intervention development. Moreover, we provide an extensive list of resources that will help the scientific community access numerous types of databases related to SARS-CoV-2 OMICs and approaches to therapeutics related to COVID-19 treatment.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; pandemic; viral genomics.

Figure 1

(a) Illustration of the full-length genome of SARS-CoV-2 showing the location of open reading frames 1a and 1b encoding the Non-structural proteins, Nsp (blue), structural proteins (brown), and accessory factors (green). The numbers on top refer to the genomic RNA; (b) schematic representation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus particle and its interaction with its host cellular receptor, ACE2. The infection pathway is shown where after docking of the virus particle on cell surface, the TMPRRSS2 cellular protease activates the viral protein S allowing entry of SARS-CoV-2 into human cells. The protein coded by the viral genes and some of the notable interactions (dashed line) with other host proteins are shown that can potentially be targeted by drugs (blue circles).