Article
A genetic element in the SARS-CoV-2 genome is shared with multiple insect species
Journal of general virology
(2021)
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is a member of the subgenus Sarbecovirus and thus contains the genetic element s2m. We have extensively mined nucleotide data in GenBank in order to obtain a comprehensive list of s2m sequences both in the four virus families where s2m has previously been described and in other groups of organisms. Surprisingly, there seems to be a xenologue of s2m in a large number of insect species. The function of s2m is unknown, but our data show a very high degree of sequence conservation both in insects and in viruses and that the version of s2m found in SARS-CoV-2 has unique features, not seen in any other virus or insect strains.
Disciplines
Publication Date
January 11, 2021
Citation Information
Tengs T, Delwiche CF, Monceyron Jonassen C. A genetic element in the SARS-CoV-2 genome is shared with multiple insect species. J Gen Virol. 2021 Mar;102(3). doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001551.