The virus family of Coronaviridae contains single stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses. They belong to the order of Nidovirales and are covered by a protective envelope. Further characteristics are ~20 nm large spikes on their envelope, which are also called peplomers (made from glycoproteins). Viruses of this family infect all kinds of mammals and birds all over the world. They show huge genetic variability, so some of them can infect different host species. The average genome contains a cap and a poly(A) tract with a length of 26-30 kilobases. The envelope is formed by budding out of the golgi apparatus or the endoplasmic reticulum of the host cell. The viral infection causes mostly mild illnesses, whereas some kind of coronaviruses can cause harmful diseases, which led to three pandemics in the last two decades (SARS1, MERS2, and COVID-19).
From SARS to COVID-19
SARS-CoV is a coronavirus strain that causes the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and was last reported in 2003 as a world-wide outbreak originating in Asia. The current strain of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak which started in Wuhan, China on December 12, 2019 and spread worldwide since February 2020. Covid-19 is reported to be more contagious than SARS but possibly less severe. SARS-CoV-2 shares 79.5% sequence identity with SARS-CoV and is 96.2% identical at the genome level to the bat coronavirus BatCoV RaTG133.
Figure 1: Electron microscope image of four coronaviruses. The spikes, which give the virus its crown-like (corona) appearance, are located on the outside of the envelope. Image used from: Center of Disease Control and Prevention.
Antibody Recommendations
Rockland Immunochemicals produces antibodies against various viral proteins that can be useful for the research and development of this virus to better understand its origins and possible treatments. The following antibodies were developed from immunogen material for the detection of SARS-CoV with high homology to the current coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). For that reason, cross reactivity is expected based on the amino acid sequences.
| Product | Host | Application | Immunogen |
| Anti-SARS-CoV 3CL Protease* | Rabbit | ELISA, WB, IF | Purified recombinant protein corresponding to full-length SARS-CoV 3CL protease |
| Anti-SARS-CoV Nucleocapsid (N) Protein* | Rabbit | ELISA, WB, IF | Purified recombinant protein corresponding to full-length SARS-CoV Nucleocapsid protein |
| Anti-SARS-Cov Nonstructural Protein 8 (nsp8) | Rabbit | IP, WB, IEM, IF | Purified His-tagged recombinant protein corresponding to full-length SARS-CoV nsp8 protein |
| Anti-SARS-Cov Nonstructural Protein 13 (nsp13) | Rabbit | IP, WB, IEM, IF | Synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminus (aa 584-601) of the SARS-CoV nsp13 protein |
*products have the highest homogoly to the SARS-CoV-2 strain.
References
- Drosten, C. et al. Identification of a novel coronavirus in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome. New Engl J Med 348, 1967-1976, (2003).
- Zaki, A. M., van Boheemen, S., Bestebroer, T. M., Osterhaus, A. D. M. E. & Fouchier, R. A. M. Isolation of a Novel Coronavirus from a Man with Pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. New Engl J Med 367, 1814-1820, (2012).
- Zhou, P., Yang, X., Wang, X. et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature (2020).
