Models of the Structure of Two Pieces of RNA in the Virus that Causes SARS (Left) and the Virus that (IMAGE)

University of Tokyo

Models of the Structure of Two Pieces of RNA in the Virus that Causes SARS (Left) and the Virus that

Caption

Researchers at the University of Tokyo and University of Tsukuba have identified specific areas of the viruses' genomes that are shared with many other evolutionarily similar viruses. The hairpin shape of these parts of the viruses' genomes may help the viruses avoid a host's immune system. Due to a few important mutations, the genome area named COV001 does not form a hairpin structure in the SARS virus (top left), but does in the COVID-19 virus (top right).

Credit

First published in Wakida et al. 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.05.008

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