Volume 31, No 11, Nov 2021

ISSN: 1001-0602 
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018 
impact factor 17.848* 
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)

Volume 31 Issue 11, November 2021: 1139-1141

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Tracing the origins of SARS-CoV-2: lessons learned from the past

Qihui Wang^1,* , Hua Chen² , Yi Shi¹ , Alice C. Hughes³ , William J. Liu⁴ , Jingkun Jiang⁵ , George F. Gao¹ , Yongbiao Xue² , Yigang Tong⁶

¹CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
²Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and China National Centre for Bioinformation, Beijing, China.
³Center of Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan, China
⁴National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing, China
⁵School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
⁶Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
Correspondence: Qihui Wang(wangqihui@im.ac.cn)

The origins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remain elusive; understanding how, when, and where SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted from its natural reservoir to human beings is crucial for preventing future coronavirus outbreaks. With the lessons learned from the endless battle against pathogens and accumulated research data with regard to the origins and intermediate hosts, we present multiple potential locations as the natural reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-021-00575-w

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