Nature. Shen Yongyi/Xiao Lihua/Chen Wu collaborated to isolate THE SARS-CoV-2-related virus from pangolins.

On May 7, 2020, Professor Shen Yongyi and Professor Xiao Lihua of South China Agricultural University and Chen Wu, senior veterinary doctor of scientific research department of Guangzhou Zoo, published an article isolation of sars-cov-2-related coronavirus from Malaysia in the form of accelerated article preview on nature The sars-cov-2 related virus was isolated from pangolins, which indicated that pangolins might be a potential intermediate host.(Note: the article was officially submitted to nature as early as February 16. It was uploaded to the preprint biorxiv on February 20, received on April 28, and went online on May 7.) from March to August 2019, the researchers analyzed the expression of SARS associated virus RNA in lung tissues of 4 Chinese pangolins and 25 Malaya pangolin beetles rescued by the wild rescue center from March to August 2019. The positive result (pangolin COV) was found in 17 Malaya pangolin beetles, but not in other pangolin beetles.in addition, the 17 positive pangolins were transferred to the rescue center for the first time at the end of March, and gradually showed respiratory related symptoms in the following days.subsequently, four PCR positive pangolins and four PCR negative pangolins were tested for IgG and IgM in the blood, and a strong positive signal was detected in one of the PCR positive pangolins.in 4 PCR positive pangolins, different degrees of alveolar injury were also found in the lungs, accompanied by exudation of red blood cells and cell debris, and infiltration of monocytes.the lung supernatant of one of the dead pangolins was co cultured with Vero E6 cells for 72 hours, and obvious cytopathic changes were found.virus particles can also be seen by electron microscopy.subsequently, spike and RdRp genes were sequenced, and their homology with sars-cov-2 was as high as 84.5% and 92.2%, respectively.next, the researchers analyzed the evolution of the virus by sequencing, and found that the sequence identity of the virus with sars-cov-2 and bat sarsr cov ratg13 ranged from 80% to 98%, except for the S gene. At 1-914 of S gene, pangolin cov was more similar to bat sarsr cov zxc21 and bat sarsr cov zc45, while the rest were more similar to sars-cov-2 and bat-cov-ratg13.it is worth noting that the RBD domain of S protein of pangolin cov is almost the same as that of sars-cov-2, with only one amino acid difference.next, they studied the binding relationship between SARS related virus and ACE2 of human, civet cat and pangolin, and found that the virus could bind to ACE2 of human and pangolin.in a word, the RBD of pangolin cov is very similar to that of sars-cov-2, which has potential epidemic risk.therefore, it is necessary to monitor bats, pangolins and other wild animals for a long time and prohibit illegal trading.for more reports on pangolin, please refer to: experts' interpretation of pangolin hammer? Novel coronavirus is the intermediate host of pangolin. Existing papers may support the original link: