A novel fingerprint map for detecting SARS-CoV.
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.
Gao
Lei
L
Bio-Informatics Research Center, College of Information Sciences and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, China.
Ding
Yong-Sheng
YS
Dai
Hua
H
Shao
Shi-Huang
SH
Huang
Zhen-De
ZD
Chou
Kuo-Chen
KC
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*