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Homologous recombination within the spike glyco-protein of the newly identified corona-virus may boost cross-species transmission from snake to human.
Journal: Journal of medical virology January/22/2020 The current outbreak of viral pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, China, was caused by a novel corona-virus designated 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization, as determined by sequencing the viral RNA genome. Many patients were potentially exposed to wildlife animals at the Huanan seafood wholesale market, where poultry, snake, bats, and other farm animals were also sold. To determine the possible virus reservoir, we have carried out comprehensive sequence analysis and comparison in conjunction with relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) bias among different animal species based on existing sequences of the newly identified coronavirus 2019-nCoV. Results obtained from our analyses suggest that the…