Epidemiology, Genetic Recombination, and Pathogenesis of Coronaviruses

Shuo Su; Gary Wong; Weifeng Shi; Jun Liu; Alexander C K Lai; Jiyong Zhou; Wenjun Liu; Yuhai Bi; George F Gao

doi:10.1016/j.tim.2016.03.003

Epidemiology, Genetic Recombination, and Pathogenesis of Coronaviruses

Trends Microbiol. 2016 Jun;24(6):490-502. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2016.03.003. Epub 2016 Mar 21.

Authors

Shuo Su¹, Gary Wong², Weifeng Shi³, Jun Liu⁴, Alexander C K Lai⁵, Jiyong Zhou⁶, Wenjun Liu⁷, Yuhai Bi⁸, George F Gao⁹

Affiliations

¹ Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunity of Jiangsu Province, Institute of immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: shuosu@njau.edu.cn.
² Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Influenza Research and Early-Warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Institute of Pathogen Biology, Taishan Medical College, Taian, China.
⁴ CAS Center for Influenza Research and Early-Warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing, China.
⁵ Kentucky State University, Frankfort, Kentucky, USA.
⁶ Engineering Laboratory of Animal Immunity of Jiangsu Province, Institute of immunology and College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
⁷ CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Influenza Research and Early-Warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁸ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Influenza Research and Early-Warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: beeyh@im.ac.cn.
⁹ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Immunity, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Influenza Research and Early-Warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Disease, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Medical School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: gaof@im.ac.cn.

Abstract

Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) were first described in the 1960s for patients with the common cold. Since then, more HCoVs have been discovered, including those that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), two pathogens that, upon infection, can cause fatal respiratory disease in humans. It was recently discovered that dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia harbor three different HCoV species, including a dominant MERS HCoV lineage that was responsible for the outbreaks in the Middle East and South Korea during 2015. In this review we aim to compare and contrast the different HCoVs with regard to epidemiology and pathogenesis, in addition to the virus evolution and recombination events which have, on occasion, resulted in outbreaks amongst humans.

Keywords: MERS; SARS; coronavirus; evolution; pathogenesis; recombination.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Coronavirus / classification
Coronavirus / genetics*
Coronavirus / pathogenicity*
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Coronavirus Infections / transmission
Coronavirus Infections / virology*
Cross Infection / epidemiology
Cross Infection / virology
Disease Outbreaks
Ecology
Evolution, Molecular
Humans
Middle East / epidemiology
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / genetics
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus / pathogenicity
Phylogeny
Recombination, Genetic*
Republic of Korea / epidemiology
Respiratory Tract Diseases / epidemiology
Respiratory Tract Diseases / virology
Saudi Arabia / epidemiology
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / epidemiology
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / transmission
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / genetics
Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / pathogenicity

Grants and funding

CIHR/Canada