title: A novel fingerprint map for detecting SARS-CoV.
abstract: Spike (S) protein is the most important membrane protein on the surface of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). It associates with cellular receptors to mediate infection of their target cells. Inspired by such a mechanism, an in-depth investigation into the genome sequences of S protein of SARS-CoV and its receptor are conducted thru a mathematical transformation and graphic approach. As an outcome, a novel method for visualizing the characteristic of SARS-CoV is suggested. An extensive comparison among a large number of genome sequences has proved that the characteristic thus revealed is unique for SARS-CoV. As such, the characteristic can be regarded as the fingerprint map of SARS-CoV for diagnostic usage. Moreover, the conclusion has been further supported in a real case in Guangdong province of China. The fingerprint map proposed here has the merits of clear visibility and reliability that can serve as a complementary clinical tool for detecting SARS-CoV, particularly for the cases where the results obtained by the conventional methods are uncertain or conflicted with each other.
authors.affiliation: Bio-Informatics Research Center, College of Information Sciences and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Yong-Sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Shi-Huang
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: Zhen-De
authors.initials: ZD
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Kuo-Chen
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chou
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D002623:Chemistry Techniques, Analytical / Q000379:methods*; D002681:China; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D051381:Rats; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*