ABSTRACT
The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is challenging the health systems worldwide, and large population testing is a vital step to control this pandemic. Here, we developed a new method (named HCoV-MS), which combines multiplex PCR with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry to simultaneously detect and differentiate seven human coronaviruses (HCoVs). The HCoV-MS method had good specificity and sensitivity, with a detection limit of 1-5 copies/reaction. To validate the HCoV-MS method, we tested 151 clinical samples, and the results showed good concordance with real-time PCR. In addition, 41 D614G variants were identified, which were consistent with the sequencing results. This method was also used in EQAE-SARS-COV in 2020, and all the samples were accurately identified. Taken together, HCoV-MS could be used as an effective method for large-scale detection. It was also capable of detecting key single nucleotide polymorphism about variants.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections , Multiple SclerosisABSTRACT
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) featuring composition and bandstructure diversity, are an emerging class of photoresponsive disinfectants. In this study, we demonstrated the superiority of core-shell arranged photoactive MOFs (prussian blue (PB) and zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8)) for pathogen inactivation in terms of biocidal efficiency and broad-spectrum sensitivity. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was significantly promoted after the integration of PB due to the photosensitization effect and initiation of in situ Fenton reaction. Favorably, another inactivation channel was also opened owing to the unique photothermal effect of PB. Attributed to the facilitated ROS intracellular penetration by heat, the composite outperforms not only individual component but anatase TiO2 in pathogen elimination. Specifically, the Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) inactivation efficiency of the composite (6.6 log) is 2, 1.8 and 5.1 times higher than that of PB (3.3 log), ZIF-8 (3.7 log) and TiO2 (1.3 log) over 45 min of simulated sunlight illumination. Significantly, the infectivity of Bacillus anthracis and murine coronavirus in droplets on composite-coated filter surface could be greatly reduced (approximately 3 log reduction in colony number/coronavirus titer) within few minutes of solar exposure, indicative of the great potential of MOF composites toward life-threatening microbial infection prevention.
ABSTRACT
A novel beta-coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in late 2019 and rapidly spread throughout the world, causing the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the origin and direct viral ancestors of SARS-CoV-2 remain elusive. Here, we discovered a new SARS-CoV-2-related virus in Yunnan province, in 2018, provisionally named PrC31, which shares 90.7% and 92.0% nucleotide identities with SARS-CoV-2 and the bat SARSr-CoV ZC45, respectively. Sequence alignment revealed that several genomic regions shared strong identity with SARS-CoV-2, phylogenetic analysis supported that PrC31 shares a common ancestor with SARS-CoV-2. The receptor binding domain of PrC31 showed only 64.2% amino acid identity with SARS-CoV-2. Recombination analysis revealed that PrC31 underwent multiple complex recombination events within the SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 sub-lineages, indicating the evolution of PrC31 from yet-to-be-identified intermediate recombination strains. Combination with previous studies revealed that the beta-CoVs may possess more complicated recombination mechanism. The discovery of PrC31 supports that bats are the natural hosts of SARS-CoV-2.