Description

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). SARS coronavirus belongs to a family of enveloped coronaviruses. Coronaviruses are enveloped, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses that belong to the subfamily Coronavirinae. The coronavirus genome encodes a spike protein (S), an envelope protein, a membrane protein, and a nucleoprotein in this order. The coronavirus N protein is required for coronavirus RNA synthesis and has RNA chaperone activity that may be involved in template switch. Coronaviruses can cause a range of symptoms varying from mild symptoms such as the common cold to more serious respiratory illnesses. SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV cause severe respiratory illness. Upon infecting host cells, coronaviruses assemble a multi-subunit RNA-synthesis complex of viral non-structural proteins (nsp) responsible for the replication and transcription of the viral genome. Coronavirus membrane protein is the component of the viral envelope that plays a central role in virus morphogenesis and assembly via its interactions with other viral proteins.