A unifying structural and functional model of the coronavirus replication organelle: tracking down RNA synthesis

Eric J. Snijder; Ronald W.A.L. Limpens; Adriaan H. de Wilde; Anja W. M. de Jong; Jessika C. Zevenhoven-Dobbe; Helena J. Maier; F.G.A. Faas; Abraham J. Koster; Montserrat Bárcena

containing new virions (pink). (See also S1 Video). The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not peer-reviewed) is the . https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.24.005298 doi: bioRxiv preprint 8 The 3D architecture of MERS-CoV-induced RO aligned with previous observations for other 156 CoV [15, 29] . No clear openings connecting the interior of the DMVs and the cytosol could 157 be detected. All three types of MERS-CoV-induced membrane modifications appeared to be 158 interconnected, either directly or indirectly through the ER. While DMSs were connected to 159 CM, and CM to ER, ER membranes were often continuous with DMVs (Fig 1F, arrowheads) . 160 Therefore, like other CoVs, MERS-CoV infection appears to induce a network of largely 161 interconnected modified ER membranes that, as a whole, can be considered the CoV RO. Quantification of the autoradiography signal per subcellular structure (see also S1 Table) . Labelling 214 densities and relative labelling indexes (RLI) in different subcellular regions of (C) Vero E6 cells 215 infected with SARS-CoV (MOI 10) or (D) Huh7 cells infected with MERS-CoV (MOI 5). 216