South China Agricultural University: 99% Similarity Between Strains Isolated from Pangolin and Novel Coronavirus
2020/2/7 13:45:00 本站

At 11 am on February 7th, South China Agricultural University held a press conference on the research of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic situation.

 

The media learned at the press conference that Professors Shen Yongyi and Xiao Lihua from the South China Agricultural University, Lingnan Modern Agricultural Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, and other scientific researchers have made breakthroughs in the traceability of potential intermediate hosts for novel coronaviruses through joint research. Their latest research suggests that pangolin is a potential intermediate host for the 2019-nCoV.

 

It is understood that the research team identified more than 1,000 metagenomic samples and identified pangolins as potential intermediate hosts of the novel coronavirus; then, through molecular biology tests, revealed that the positive rate of beta coronavirus in pangolins was 70%; further virus isolation identification, the typical coronavirus particle structure was observed under an electron microscope; finally, by analyzing the virus genome, it was found that the sequence similarity between the isolated virus strain and the currently infected human strain was as high as 99%.

 

The above results indicate that pangolin is a potential intermediate host for the novel coronavirus. The research results are of great significance to the source prevention and control of the epidemic and provide a scientific basis for the adjustment of related policies for wildlife control.

 

“Given the seriousness of the current epidemic prevention and control, we choose to announce the research results to the society as soon as possible, hoping to help the scientific prevention and control of the epidemic and provide reference for more scientists to carry out further work.” Introduced by Professor Liu Yahong, Executive Deputy Director of Lingnan Modern Agricultural Science and Technology Laboratory of Guangdong Province, President of South China Agricultural University. At the beginning of the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV novel coronavirus, in order to effectively respond to the epidemic and strengthen its scientific and technological prevention and control capabilities, Lingnan Modern Agricultural Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory and South China Agricultural University attached great importance.

 

Under the guidance of various government departments in Guangdong Province, with the support of the emergency response to the novel coronavirus epidemic prevention and control technology of Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the school's strengths and discipline platforms were integrated, and the school's superior scientific research force was organized to carry out epidemic prevention and control joint research and quickly made major breakthroughs.

 

Liu Yahong said that South China Agricultural University has long adhered to the national and people's interests as the top priority, insisted that scientific research be in the forefront, and called on the school's scientific researchers to write thesis on the land of the motherland. At present, schools are responding more actively to national calls, reflecting responsibility, and writing dissertations on the front line of epidemic prevention and control. The school will use the strength of the whole school to give full play to the advantages of Lingnan's modern agricultural Guangdong laboratory and other platforms, and take the initiative to pay close attention to the possible impact of novel coronavirus on China's livestock and poultry industry and agricultural production. The monitoring and research work on zoonotic diseases of animal origin provides scientific and technological support for epidemic prevention and control and the steady development of China's livestock and poultry industry and contributes scientific and technological strength to win the fight against the epidemic.


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(Photo source: Internet)


Original Chinese article:

https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_5835114


By / Maggie