Bat SARS-like coronavirus WIV1 explained

Bat SARS-like coronavirus WIV1 (Bat SL-CoV-WIV1), also sometimes called SARS-like coronavirus WIV1, is a strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV) isolated from Chinese rufous horseshoe bats in 2013 (Rhinolophus sinicus).[1] [2] Like all coronaviruses, virions consist of single-stranded positive-sense RNA enclosed within an envelope.[3]

WIV1 was named for the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where it was discovered by a researcher on Shi Zhengli's team.[4]

Zoonosis

The discovery confirms that bats are the natural reservoir of SARS-CoV. Phylogenetic analysis shows the possibility of direct transmission of SARS from bats to humans without the intermediary Chinese civets, as previously believed.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Xing-Yi Ge . Jia-Lu Li . Xing-Lou Yang . etal . Isolation and characterization of a bat SARS-like coronavirus that uses the ACE2 receptor . Nature . 503 . 7477 . 535–8 . 2013 . 24172901 . 5389864 . 10.1038/nature12711. 2013Natur.503..535G .
  2. Web site: Taxonomy: Bat SARS-like coronavirus WIV1. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2020-02-20.
  3. News: Naik . Gautam . Study: Bat-to-Human Leap Likely for SARS-Like Virus - WSJ.com . Online.wsj.com . 2013-10-30. 2013-10-31. Wall Street Journal .
  4. Web site: Qiu . Jane . Meet the scientist at the center of the covid lab leak controversy. MIT Technology Review. 2024-06-03. live . https://archive.today/20220214062400/https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/02/09/1044985/shi-zhengli-covid-lab-leak-wuhan/ . 2022-02-14.
  5. Vineet D. Menachery et al., SARS-like WIV1-CoV poised for human emergence, 2016.