Sequences in the cytoplasmic tail of SARS-CoV-2 Spike facilitate expression at the cell surface and syncytia formation

Abstract

The Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 has a C-terminal cytoplasmic tail. Here the authors show that this tail binds trafficking machinery via sequences that appear optimised to ensure that Spike accumulates at the site of viral budding in the Golgi but that some can also traffic to the cell surface to induce syncytia formation.