Medical Study Re Possible 2019-nCoV Animal ReservoirThis study published today and authors suspect the 2019nCoV animal reservoir was some type of snake. Will be interested to see if the WHO discloses anything on this.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmv.25682 "The source of the outbreak is still unknown, although preliminary evidence from a genetic analysis of the virus suggests that it likely resided in snakes before jumping to humans, according to the authors of a new study published Wednesday (Jan. 22) in the
Journal of Medical Virology."
Homologous recombination within the spike glycoprotein of the newly identified coronavirus may boost crossspecies transmission from snake to human Abstract
The current outbreak of viral pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, China, was caused by a novel coronavirus designated 2019nCoV by the World Health Organization, as determined by sequencing the viral RNA genome.
Many patients were potentially exposed to wildlife animals at the Huanan seafood wholesale market, where poultry, snake, bats, and other farm animals were also sold.
To determine the possible virus reservoir, we have carried out comprehensive sequence analysis and comparison in conjunction with relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) bias among different animal species based on existing sequences of the newly identified coronavirus 2019nCoV.
Results obtained from our analyses suggest that the 2019nCoV appears to be a recombinant virus between the bat coronavirus and an originunknown coronavirus.
The recombination occurred within the viral spike glycoprotein, which recognizes cell surface receptor.
Additionally, our findings suggest that snake is the most probable wildlife animal reservoir for the 2019nCoV based on its RSCU bias resembling snake compared to other animals.
Taken together, our results suggest that homologous recombination within the spike glycoprotein may contribute to crossspecies transmission from snake to humans.