Members of the family Coronaviridae are large, enveloped, single-stranded RNA viruses. They are the largest known RNA viruses, with genomes ranging from 25 to 32 kb and virions of 118–140 nm in diameter. Virions are roughly spherical and are notable for the large spike glycoprotein extending 16-21 nm from the virus envelope.
Transcription and genome replication is Cytoplasmic. Genome-length RNA serves as mRNA for a long polyprotein precursor encoding several non-structural proteins (NSPs) including (RdRp). All family members share the same unique discontinuous transcription strategy for mRNA synthesis whereby the polymerase complex jumps or moves from one region of the template to a more distant region. The need for the polymerase complex to dissociate from the template may explain the high rate of RNA recombination that occurs during genome replication.
Human coronaviruses (HCoVs), including HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-HKU1, are traditionally known to cause symptoms of the common cold with only moderate clinical impact. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) arose in 2004 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2014, on the other hand, has stricken humans in the past two decades as highly fatal human pathogens leading to considerable mortality and economic loss. While recent studies have shed light upon the zoonotic origin of emerging human pathogens including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, the emergence of SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV), the causative agent of the COVID-19 global pandemic, was not predicted.
To serve biomedical research, ProSci offers a wide variety of antibodies and recombinant proteins as research reagents to study Coronaviruses (CoV). Many of these coronavirus research reagents have been cited in multiple studies, showing that they have been used in real-world studies by scientists.
