SARS-Associated Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) Sequencing
On April 14, 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the completion of the full-length genetic sequencing of the genome of the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The sequence data confirmed that SARS-CoV is a previously unrecognized coronavirus. Information provided by collaborators at the National Microbiology Laboratory, Canada; University of California at San Francisco; Erasmus University, Rotterdam; and Bernhard-Nocht Institute, Hamburg, facilitated the sequencing effort.
All of the sequence, except for the leader sequence, was derived directly from viral RNA. The genome of SARS-CoV is 29,727 nucleotides in length, and the genome organization is similar to that of other coronaviruses. Open-reading frames corresponding to the predicted polymerase protein (polymerase 1a, 1b), spike protein (S), small membrane protein (E), membrane protein (M), and nucleocapsid protein (N), plus several other open-reading frames of unknown function, have been identified.
Persons interested in viewing published GenBank information on SARS-CoV (Urbani strain) sequences may do so at the website of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govexternal icon. The accession number for the sequence of SARS-CoV (Urbani strain) is AY278741.
- Entire Nucleotide Sequence of SARS-CoV (Urbani strain) pdf icon[16 Pages]
- Press Release: CDC Lab Sequences Genome of New Coronavirus (CDC Media Relations – April 14, 2003)
- Characterization of a Novel Coronavirus Associated with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome pdf icon[10 pages]external icon
Science online 30 April 2003;10.1126/science.1085952. View Abstractexternal icon - The Genome Sequence of the SARS-Associated Coronavirus pdf icon[13 pages]external icon
Science online 30 April 2003;10.1126/science.1085953. View Abstractexternal icon