Popular science: bat coronavirus research reveals new clues to the origin of new coronavirus

Popular science: bat coronavirus research reveals new clues to the origin of new coronavirus

Popular science: bat coronavirus research reveals new clues to the origin of new coronavirus Popular science: bat coronavirus research reveals new clues to the origin of new coronavirus

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 31 (Reporter Zhang Ying and Xiao Haichuan) The new issue of the US "Cell" magazine published a review article written by researchers from the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia, focusing on a research led by Chinese researchers.
New research on bat coronavirus
.

The article believes that this new research helps to understand the origin of the new coronavirus more deeply

New crown "cousin" virus

New crown "cousin" virus

According to the article reports, Shandong Medical Sciences , Chinese Academy of Sciences agencies and other researchers for the period 2019 to 2020 were collected from Yunnan to a small area of 411 samples bat unfold sequenced the complete genome of obtaining 24 kinds of coronavirus
.

Among them are four types of coronaviruses called cousins ​​of the new coronavirus, all of which are obtained from chrysanthemum bats

Academy of Sciences

The "cousins" of these four new coronaviruses are numbered RpYN06, RsYN04, RmYN05, and RmYN08, respectively
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Among them, the genome of RpYN06 is 94.

How did the ancestors of the new coronavirus obtain the ability to jump from bats to humans? This is a key issue in traceability research
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The new coronavirus invades the human body through the combination of the spike protein on the surface and the human cell receptor "Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2)".

Judging from the four newly reported coronaviruses related to the new coronavirus, the spike protein region of this type of virus has undergone complex genetic recombination and presents diversity
.

Although RpYN06 is closer to the new coronavirus in the entire genome, its spike protein cannot bind to the ACE2 receptor

Four unsolved mysteries

Four unsolved mysteries

This review article believes that the above-mentioned new research provides clues for in-depth understanding of the origin of the new coronavirus, but there are still four unsolved mysteries about the origin of the new coronavirus
.

First of all, what kind of animal directly infects the new coronavirus to humans? Like most zoonotic viruses, the new coronavirus is likely to be introduced into humans via an intermediate host
.

So far, the coronavirus obtained in pangolins is the closest to the new coronavirus besides the bat coronavirus

Second, in nature, where did the new coronavirus originate? According to existing studies, the natural host of the new coronavirus is bats, which are likely to be chrysanthemum bats living in Southeast Asia
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At present, a variety of chrysanthemum bats have been found to carry coronavirus related to the new crown virus.

Third, can you find "Bat Zero" or "Patient Zero"? It may not be found
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The continuous evolution and reorganization of the new coronavirus has made it increasingly difficult to determine its origin

Fourth, will there be a new human disease pandemic in the future? There is no doubt about this
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So far, three-quarters of human diseases are of animal origin, but scientists still know very little about zoonotic diseases.
The deterioration of the environment caused by urbanization and climate change increases the risk of new diseases
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Researchers around the world should continue to work hard to find the origin of the virus, systematically assess the pathogens of zoonotic diseases that may cause a pandemic, and reduce the risk of future pandemics by improving biosecurity, strengthening species protection, and reducing human impact on the environment
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Focus on the new crown pneumonia epidemic