Cryo-EM structures of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV spike glycoproteins reveal the dynamic receptor binding domains

Abstract

Host tropism and cell entry of pathogenic coronaviruses are mediated by their envelope spike (S) proteins. Here the authors present structural analyses of trimeric MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV S proteins in pre-fusion conformation, and reveal two states of the receptor binding domain that suggest new avenues for the generation of neutralizing antibodies.