Pangolin homology associated with 2019-nCoV

Tao Zhang; Qunfu Wu; Zhigang Zhang

The N-protein is a highly immunogenic phosphoprotein, and it is normally very conserved. 12 The N protein of coronavirus is often used as a marker in diagnostic assays. To gain a 13 further insight into the diagnostic potential for Pangolin-Cov, we investigated the amino The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not peer-reviewed) is the . https://doi.org/10. 1101 RaTG13 and SARS-CoVs, which are mutated as 38S and 268A in 2019-nCoV. Only one 1 amino acid residue shared by Pangolin-CoV and other SARS-CoVs (129E) is consistently 2 changed in both 2019-nCoV and RaTG13 (129D). Our observed amino acid changes in N-3 protein would be useful for developing antigen for much more sensitive serological 4 detection of 2019-nCoV. 5 Based on published metagenomic data, this study provides the first report on a 6 potential closely related kin (Pangolin-CoV) of 2019-nCoV, which was discovered from 7 dead Malayan Pangolins after extensive rescue efforts. Aside from RaTG13, the Pangolin-8 CoV is the most closely related to 2019-nCoV. Due to original sample unavailable, we did 9 not perform further experiments to confirm our findings, including PCR validation, 10 serological detection, and even the isolation of virus particle etc. However, on 7 February, The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not peer-reviewed) is the . https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.19.950253 doi: bioRxiv preprint