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Comment
. 2020 Jul;28(7):515-517.
doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2020.04.001. Epub 2020 Apr 6.

Pangolins Harbor SARS-CoV-2-Related Coronaviruses

Guan-Zhu Han  1
Affiliations
Comment

Pangolins Harbor SARS-CoV-2-Related Coronaviruses

Guan-Zhu Han. Trends Microbiol. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed a severe threat to global public health. Yet, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains mysterious. Several recent studies (e.g., Lam et al.,Xiao et al.) identified SARS-CoV-2-related viruses in pangolins, providing novel insights into the evolution and diversity of SARS-CoV-2-related viruses.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; pangolins; phylogenetics.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Evolution of Pangolin Coronaviruses (CoVs). (A) The phylogenetic relationship among SARS-CoV-related viruses at the genome level. (B) The phylogenetic relationship among SARS-CoV-related viruses based on all the sites (left panel) or the synonymous sites (right panel) of the receptor-binding domain (RBD). (C) Cross-species transmission scenarios and their expected phylogenetic patterns. Pangolin CoVs might ultimately originate from cross-species transmission from bats. Pangolins serve as the intermediate host, and SARS-CoV-2 arose through spillover from pangolins to humans once (scenario I) or multiple times (scenario II). SARS-CoV and pangolin CoVs originated independently through cross-species transmission from bats (scenario III). Black arrows indicate cross-species transmission events.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • Identifying SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins.
    Lam TT, Jia N, Zhang YW, Shum MH, Jiang JF, Zhu HC, Tong YG, Shi YX, Ni XB, Liao YS, Li WJ, Jiang BG, Wei W, Yuan TT, Zheng K, Cui XM, Li J, Pei GQ, Qiang X, Cheung WY, Li LF, Sun FF, Qin S, Huang JC, Leung GM, Holmes EC, Hu YL, Guan Y, Cao WC. Lam TT, et al. Nature. 2020 Jul;583(7815):282-285. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2169-0. Epub 2020 Mar 26. Nature. 2020. PMID: 32218527
  • Isolation of SARS-CoV-2-related coronavirus from Malayan pangolins.
    Xiao K, Zhai J, Feng Y, Zhou N, Zhang X, Zou JJ, Li N, Guo Y, Li X, Shen X, Zhang Z, Shu F, Huang W, Li Y, Zhang Z, Chen RA, Wu YJ, Peng SM, Huang M, Xie WJ, Cai QH, Hou FH, Chen W, Xiao L, Shen Y. Xiao K, et al. Nature. 2020 Jul;583(7815):286-289. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2313-x. Epub 2020 May 7. Nature. 2020. PMID: 32380510

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