Prediction analysis of SARS-COV-2 entry in Livestock and Wild animals

Praharaj, Manas Ranjan; Garg, Priyanka; Khan, Raja Ishaq Nabi; Sharma, Shailesh; Panigrahi, Manjit; Mishra, B P; Mishra, Bina; Kumar, G Sai; Gandham, Ravi Kumar; Singh, Raj Kumar; Majumdar, Subeer; Mohapatra, Trilochan

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 is a viral pathogen causing life threatening disease in human. Interaction between spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2 receptor on the cells is a potential factor in the infectivity of a host. The interaction of SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain with its receptor - ACE2, in different hosts was evaluated to understand and predict viral entry. The protein and nucleotide sequences of ACE2 were initially compared across different species to identify key differences among them. The ACE2 receptor of various species was homology modeled (6LZG as a reference) and its binding ability to the spike receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 was assessed. Initially, the spike binding properties of ACE2 of known infected and uninfected species was compared with each Order (of animals) as a group. Finally, a logistic regression model vis-a-vis the spike binding properties of ACE2 (Interaction energy, entropy sidechain and entropy mainchain) was constructed to predict the probability of viral entry in different hosts. ResultsPhylogeny and alignment comparison did not lead to any meaningful conclusion on viral entry in different hosts. Out of several spike binding properties of ACE2, a significant difference between the known infected and uninfected species was observed for five spike binding properties of ACE2. However, these parameters did not specifically categorize the animals into infected or uninfected, for all the Orders (of animals). The logistic regression model constructed revealed that in the mammalian class, most of the species of Carnivores, Artiodactyls, Perissodactyls, Pholidota, and Primates had high probability of viral entry. However, among the primates, baboons have very low probability of viral entry. Among rodents, hamsters were highly probable for viral entry with rats and mice having a very low probability. Rabbits have a medium probability of viral entry. In Birds, ducks have a very low probability, while chickens seemed to have medium probability and turkey showed the highest probability of viral entry. ConclusionsMost of the species considered in this study showed high probability of viral entry. This study would prompt us to closely follow certain species of animals for determining pathogenic insult by SARS-CoV-2 and for determining their ability to act as a carrier and/or disseminator.