The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes a severe acute respiratory tract infection with a high fatality rate in humans. Coronaviruses are capable of infecting multiple species and can evolve rapidly through recombination events. Here, we report the complete genomic sequence analysis of a MERS-CoV strain imported to China from South Korea. The imported virus, provisionally named ChinaGD01, belongs to group 3 in clade B in the whole-genome phylogenetic tree and also has a similar tree topology structure in the open reading frame 1a and -b (ORF1ab) gene segment but clusters with group 5 of clade B in the tree constructed using the S gene. Genetic recombination analysis and lineage-specific single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) comparison suggest that the imported virus is a recombinant comprising group 3 and group 5 elements. The time-resolved phylogenetic estimation indicates that the recombination event likely occurred in the second half of 2014. Genetic recombination events between group 3 and group 5 of clade B may have implications for the transmissibility of the virus.
Contributor Information
Yanqun Wang, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Di Liu, CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Network Information Center Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Weifeng Shi, Institute of Pathogen Biology Taishan Medical College, Taian, China.
Roujian Lu, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Wenling Wang, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Yanjie Zhao, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Yao Deng, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Weimin Zhou, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Hongguang Ren, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing, China.
Jun Wu, CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Yu Wang, Office of Director-General Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Guizhen Wu, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
George F. Gao, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Office of Director-General Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
Wenjie Tan, Key Laboratory of Medical Virology Ministry of Health, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.