Scientists have released the most up-to-date illustration of the coronavirus ever made, mapping both its external appearance and internal structure.
The visualisation was created via a 3D model and combines the latest data on the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which is causing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Experts at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia created the model and hope it can help create treatments for Covid-19.
In a video the academics showcase their model which includes the protein spikes on its surface as well as the genetic material wound up inside the viral membrane.
Scientists have released the most up-to-date illustration of the coronavirus ever made(pictured), mapping both its external appearance and internal structure
The visualisation was created via a 3D model and combines the latest data on the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which is causing the Covid-19 pandemic, both inside and out
‘Our 3D model demonstrates the current state-of-the-art structure of SARS-CoV-2 at the atomistic level and reveals details of the virus that were previously impossible to see, like how we think nucleocapsid proteins form a rope-like structure inside it,’ says KAUST research scientist Ondřej Strnad.
‘The approach we used to develop the model could steer biological research into new, promising directions for fighting the spread of COVID-19, as it could help scientists rapidly incorporate newly discovered information into the model and thus provide an up-to-date structure of the virus,’ he says.
To create the model the researchers took high-resolution images of the viral surface from scanning electron microscopes.
These reveal the specific appearance of the viral surface, showing the proteins and receptors protruding from its surface.
Included in these is the viral spike protein which binds to the ACE2 receptor of some human cells.
This spike tricks the receptor into opening up a pathway into the cell, allowing the coronavirus to bypass defences and infect a person.
The virus has a diameter of around 120nanometres, around 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair
Experts at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia who created the model hope it can help in development of Covid-19 treatments and vaccines
This spike has been the primary target of much vaccine and treatment research, specifically the so-called receptor-binding domain (RBD).
The Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine which was today announced as being more than 90 per cent effective, targets this specific area, for example.
Professor Ian Jones, Professor of Virology, University of Reading, said: ‘Of all the current vaccine currently in development the BioNtech product always looked like the most bang-per-buck as it is entirely focused on the part of the virus that binds to the human cell, the receptor binding domain.’
The model then added data from various other sources to fill in the gaps in knowledge surrounding the interior of the coronavirus.
This includes information on SARS-CoV-2’s single RNA strand and the nucleocapsid proteins protecting it.
This was then combined with information on how all the aspects of the virus sit within the organism and interact with one another.
The end result is the most accurate ever look at the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
‘Our model shows the complete viral ultrastructure as we know it to date, and not just some arbitrarily placed, incomplete spike proteins on a lipid membrane,’ explains KAUST computer science Ph.D. student Ngan Nguyen.
‘Other available models also don’t show the interior of the virus, as its details are not currently known.
‘Scripps Research Institute, US, provided us with the most likely hypothesis for the structure’s interior based on current data. If this hypothesis is proven wrong, then we can easily update the model,’ she explains.
