Studies show that the virus is “highly adapted to humans.”

Scientists using computer modeling to study SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, said the virus infects human cells rather than bats and pangolin cells. I found it to be the most ideal fit for.

In a treatise published in Nature journal Science reportAustralian scientists used high-performance computer modeling of SARS-CoV-2 virus morphology at the beginning of the pandemic with humans and 12 domestic and 12 domestic and Exotic animals..

Their study identifies intermediate animal vectors that may have played a role in infecting humans with the bat virus and understands the risks posed by susceptibility to companion animals such as cats and dogs and commercial animals such as cattle and sheep. The purpose is to do. Pigs and horses.

Scientists at Flinders University and La Trobe University have elaborately constructed computer models of various major ACE2 protein receptors using genomic data from 12 species of animals. Next, these models were used to calculate the strength of binding of SARS-CoV-2 peplomer proteins to various ACE2 receptors.

Surprisingly, the results showed that SARS-CoV-2 bound to ACE2. Human It produces cells more firmly than any tested animal species, including bats and pangolins.Any of Animal species It was of origin that was tested and is usually expected to show the best binding to the virus.

“Human showed the strongest spike binding, consistent with high susceptibility to the virus, but it would be very surprising if animals were the first source of human infection,” said David at La Trobe University. Professor Winkler says.

The findings, originally released on the ArXiv preprint server, are peer-reviewed and Science report..

“Computer modeling shows that the virus’s ability to bind to the bat’s ACE2 protein was inferior to its ability to bind. Human cells.. This opposes the virus being transmitted directly from bats to humans. Therefore, if the virus has a natural source, it can reach humans only through intermediate species that have not yet been discovered, “says Flinders’ professor Nikolai Petrovsky.

According to the team’s computer modeling, the SARS-CoV-2 virus also binds relatively strongly to ACE2 from Pangolin, a rare exotic anteater found in some parts of Southeast Asia, and is used as food and traditional medicine. It may be done. Professor Winkler says the scale armor showed the highest spike binding energy of all the animals examined in the study. This is significantly higher than bats, monkeys and snakes.

“It was erroneously suggested that we discovered SARS-CoV-2 in the pandemic early in the pandemic, but this was a misunderstanding and this claim was rapidly withdrawn. Pangolin The coronavirus they described could not be an ancestor because it had less than 90% genetic similarity to SARS-CoV-2, “says Professor Petrovsky.

However, this and other studies have shown that certain parts of the Pangorin coronavirus pesplomer that bind to ACE2 are similar to those of the SARS-CoV-2 pesplomer.

“This sharing of nearly identical peplomeres almost certainly explains why SARS-CoV-2 binds so well to pangoline ACE2. Pangolin and SARS-CoV-2 peplomers are a process of convergent evolution. It is possible that the similarity has evolved through. gene recombination There is currently no way to distinguish between these possibilities, either between viruses or through genetic engineering, “says Professor Petrovsky.

“Overall, apart from the interesting pangolin ACE2 results, our study showed that the COVID-19 virus is very well adapted to infect humans.”

“We also speculated that some were domesticated. animal Like cats, dogs and cows, they are also susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infections, “added Professor Winkler.

There are currently two main explanations for the very important and unanswered question of how the virus became infectious to humans. Although the virus may have been transmitted from bats to humans via intermediate animals (the origin of zoonotic diseases), it cannot be ruled out that it was accidentally released from the virology laboratory. Determining which of these explanations is correct requires a thorough scientific evidence-based investigation.

SARS-CoV-2 method and location Virus Adapting to become such an effective human pathogen remains a mystery, researchers conclude, finding the origin of the disease in an effort to protect humanity from future coronavirus pandemics. He added that it would help.