U of M scientists unveil new insights into the evolutionary origin of COVID-19
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (07/31/2024) — More than four years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health emergency, the evolutionary origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains elusive. Now, research from the University of Minnesota Medical School sheds light on the roles animals may have played in the evolution of SARS-CoV-2.
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study was spearheaded by Fang Li, PhD, a Medical School professor, endowed chair and director of the Center for Emerging Viruses. Early in the pandemic, Li’s team identified key structural mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2, laying the molecular foundations guiding global efforts against the virus. In this latest research, Li’s team and collaborators discovered that two bat coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 could have the ability to co-infect mice. This co-infection suggests that these bat viruses could recombine into a single virus and further evolve critical molecular features in mice, potentially leading to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2.
SARS-CoV-2 contains two novel features that raise questions about its evolution: a protein that allows the virus to attach strongly to human cells known as the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and a specific spot on the virus where an enzyme cuts to help it activate and efficiently infect human cells known as the furin site. During the pandemic, a nearly identical RBD was found in bat viruses — proving the RBD came from nature. The remaining question is how the furin site evolved.
The research suggests that since approximately 78% of rodent coronaviruses contain the furin site, SARS-CoV-2 might have evolved this site in rodents after initially originating from bats.
“While the study suggested one possible scenario for the emergence of COVID-19, further research is needed to understand what drives the evolution of the furin site in coronaviruses,” said Dr. Li. “Because rodent coronaviruses readily develop this site, they provide valuable insights for scientific investigation.”
The research was funded by National Institutes of Health grants R01AI089728, R01AI110700 and R35GM118047.
Significant contributions to the study were also made by Dr. Wei Zhang, Medical School, and Drs. Ke Shi and Hideki Aihara, University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences.
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