The E protein is a multifunctional membrane protein of SARS-CoV.
The E (envelope) protein is the smallest structural protein in all coronaviruses and is the only viral structural protein in which no variation has been detected. We conducted genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of SARS-CoV. Based on genome sequencing, we predicted the E protein is a transmembrane (TM) protein characterized by a TM region with strong hydrophobicity and alpha-helix conformation. We identified a segment (NH2-_L-Cys-A-Y-Cys-Cys-N_-COOH) in the carboxyl-terminal region of the E protein that appears to form three disulfide bonds with another segment of corresponding cysteines in the carboxyl-terminus of the S (spike) protein. These bonds point to a possible structural association between the E and S proteins. Our phylogenetic analyses of the E protein sequences in all published coronaviruses place SARS-CoV in an independent group in Coronaviridae and suggest a non-human animal origin.
Wu
Qingfa
Q
Beijing Genomics Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101300, China.
Zhang
Yilin
Y
Lü
Hong
H
Wang
Jing
J
He
Ximiao
X
Liu
Yong
Y
Ye
Chen
C
Lin
Wei
W
Hu
Jianfei
J
Ji
Jia
J
Xu
Jing
J
Ye
Jie
J
Hu
Yongwu
Y
Chen
Wenjun
W
Li
Songgang
S
Wang
Jun
J
Wang
Jian
J
Bi
Shengli
S
Yang
Huanming
H
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D040461:Gene Components; D016679:Genome, Viral; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011487:Protein Conformation; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D003062:Codon; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins