Synthetic recombinant bat SARS-like coronavirus is infectious in cultured cells and in mice.
Defining prospective pathways by which zoonoses evolve and emerge as human pathogens is critical for anticipating and controlling both natural and deliberate pandemics. However, predicting tenable pathways of animal-to-human movement has been hindered by challenges in identifying reservoir species, cultivating zoonotic organisms in culture, and isolating full-length genomes for cloning and genetic studies. The ability to design and recover pathogens reconstituted from synthesized cDNAs has the potential to overcome these obstacles by allowing studies of replication and pathogenesis without identification of reservoir species or cultivation of primary isolates. Here, we report the design, synthesis, and recovery of the largest synthetic replicating life form, a 29.7-kb bat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like coronavirus (Bat-SCoV), a likely progenitor to the SARS-CoV epidemic. To test a possible route of emergence from the noncultivable Bat-SCoV to human SARS-CoV, we designed a consensus Bat-SCoV genome and replaced the Bat-SCoV Spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) with the SARS-CoV RBD (Bat-SRBD). Bat-SRBD was infectious in cell culture and in mice and was efficiently neutralized by antibodies specific for both bat and human CoV Spike proteins. Rational design, synthesis, and recovery of hypothetical recombinant viruses can be used to investigate mechanisms of transspecies movement of zoonoses and has great potential to aid in rapid public health responses to known or predicted emerging microbial threats.
Becker
Michelle M
MM
Departments of Pediatrics and Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Graham
Rachel L
RL
Donaldson
Eric F
EF
Rockx
Barry
B
Sims
Amy C
AC
Sheahan
Timothy
T
Pickles
Raymond J
RJ
Corti
Davide
D
Johnston
Robert E
RE
Baric
Ralph S
RS
Denison
Mark R
MR
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000821:virology*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000821:virology; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000821:virology*; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014709:Vero Cells; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014779:Virus Replication; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology
D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins