Broad host range of SARS-CoV-2 and the molecular basis for SARS-CoV-2 binding to cat ACE2

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Lili Wu, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Qian Chen, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kefang Liu, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Jia Wang, Tsinghua University; Pengcheng Han, Emory University; Yanfang Zhang, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Yu Hu, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Yumin Meng, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Xiaoqian Pan, Univ Chinese Acad Sci; Chengpeng Qiao, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Siyu Tian, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Pei Du, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Hao Song, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Weifeng Shi, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences; Jianxun Qi, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Hong-Wei Wang, Tsinghua University; Jinghua Yan, Chinese Academy of Sciences; George F Gao, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Qihui Wang, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-09-29
• Publisher: SPRINGERNATURE
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2020
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41421-020-00210-9
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: CELL DISCOVERY
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 68
• End Page: 68
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (2020YFC0840801 and 2020YFC0845900), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB29010202) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81922044 and 81973228). Q.W. is supported by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2018119). G.F.G is supported by the foundation of the NSFC Innovative Research Group (81621091).
• Keywords: Cell Biology; SARS CORONAVIRUS; Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Engineering, Biomedical

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the recent pandemic COVID-19, is reported to have originated from bats, with its intermediate host unknown to date. Here, we screened 26 animal counterparts of the human ACE2 (hACE2), the receptor for SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, and found that the ACE2s from various species, including pets, domestic animals and multiple wild animals, could bind to SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) and facilitate the transduction of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus. Comparing to SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV seems to have a slightly wider range in choosing its receptor. We further resolved the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the cat ACE2 (cACE2) in complex with the SARS-CoV-2 RBD at a resolution of 3 Å, revealing similar binding mode as hACE2 to the SARS-CoV-2 RBD. These results shed light on pursuing the intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 and highlight the necessity of monitoring susceptible hosts to prevent further outbreaks.