OBJECTIVE: SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the present coronavirus pandemic and some suggestions were made about its possible artificial origin. We, therefore, compared SARS-CoV-2 with such known viruses that were prepared in the laboratory and other relevant natural strains to estimate their genetic relatedness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: BLAST and clustalW were used to identify and align viral sequences of SARS-CoV-2 to other animal coronaviruses (human, bat, mouse, pangolin) and related artificial constructs. Phylogenetics trees were then prepared using iTOL. RESULTS: Our study supports the notion that known artificial coronaviruses, including the chimeric SL-SHC014-MA15 synthesized in 2015, differ too much from SARS-CoV-2 to hypothesize an artificial origin of the latter. On the contrary, our data support the natural origin of the COVID-19 virus, likely derived from bats, possibly transferred to pangolins, before spreading to man. CONCLUSIONS: Speculations about the artificial origin of SARS-CoV-2 are most likely unfounded. On the contrary, when carefully handled, engineered organisms provide a unique opportunity to study biological systems in a controlled fashion. Biotechnology is a powerful tool to advance medical research and should not be abandoned because of irrational fears.

Dallavilla, T., Bertelli, M., Morresi, A., Bushati, V., Stuppia, L., Beccari, T., Chiurazzi, P., Marceddu, G., Bioinformatic analysis indicates that SARS-CoV-2 is unrelated to known artificial coronaviruses, <<EUROPEAN REVIEW FOR MEDICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL SCIENCES>>, 2020; 24 (8): 4558-4564. [doi:10.26355/eurrev_202004_21041] [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/206471]

Bioinformatic analysis indicates that SARS-CoV-2 is unrelated to known artificial coronaviruses

Chiurazzi, Pietro;
2020

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the present coronavirus pandemic and some suggestions were made about its possible artificial origin. We, therefore, compared SARS-CoV-2 with such known viruses that were prepared in the laboratory and other relevant natural strains to estimate their genetic relatedness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: BLAST and clustalW were used to identify and align viral sequences of SARS-CoV-2 to other animal coronaviruses (human, bat, mouse, pangolin) and related artificial constructs. Phylogenetics trees were then prepared using iTOL. RESULTS: Our study supports the notion that known artificial coronaviruses, including the chimeric SL-SHC014-MA15 synthesized in 2015, differ too much from SARS-CoV-2 to hypothesize an artificial origin of the latter. On the contrary, our data support the natural origin of the COVID-19 virus, likely derived from bats, possibly transferred to pangolins, before spreading to man. CONCLUSIONS: Speculations about the artificial origin of SARS-CoV-2 are most likely unfounded. On the contrary, when carefully handled, engineered organisms provide a unique opportunity to study biological systems in a controlled fashion. Biotechnology is a powerful tool to advance medical research and should not be abandoned because of irrational fears.
2020
Inglese
Dallavilla, T., Bertelli, M., Morresi, A., Bushati, V., Stuppia, L., Beccari, T., Chiurazzi, P., Marceddu, G., Bioinformatic analysis indicates that SARS-CoV-2 is unrelated to known artificial coronaviruses, <<EUROPEAN REVIEW FOR MEDICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL SCIENCES>>, 2020; 24 (8): 4558-4564. [doi:10.26355/eurrev_202004_21041] [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/206471]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10807/206471
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