Coronavirus Research

Overview

The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has been involved in viral sequencing and analysis for more than 25 years, and coronavirus research for more than 15. This work has aided human health through vaccine development; improved food security by protecting crops and livestock; and provides critical data and analysis to researchers around the world. The Institute has also pioneered a synthetic biology platform which is now integral to fighting current and emerging viral threats.

Following is a summary of our various research projects on the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2 Research

COVID-19 Serology Testing

Informatics

JCVI is developing critical resources for the evaluation of antibody reactivity for serology testing. From an informatics perspective, the use of comparative genomics methods and predictive machine learning algorithms are being used to identify the key determinants for immune system recognition and to monitor the impact of virus evolution in immune system evasion. The bioinformatics analyses will aid in developing critical resources for the evaluation of antibody reactivity for serology testing.

Lab

In the laboratory, viral surface proteins are being generated for use as ELISA antigens, pseudotyped recombinant viruses are being constructed for neutralizing assays, and candidate vaccine constructs are being synthetized to define the immunogenicity of the viral proteins and to understand the basis of immune response and protection against SARS-CoV-2.

Funding

Funding for this research is provided through a variety of government and private sources.

We need your support now to continue and expand upon these critical projects. If you would like to learn more about supporting any of this exciting research, please contact Jill Mullen at jmullen@jcvi.org.

Coronavirus Support

Your support directly funds novel coronavirus research. This is monumental effort, requiring a wide range of scientific solutions. We need your support

Principal Investigators

Related Research

Publications

Schriml LM, Chuvochina M, Davies N, Eloe-Fadrosh EA, Finn RD, Hugenholtz P, Hunter CI, Hurwitz BL, Kyrpides NC, Meyer F, Mizrachi IK, Sansone SA, Sutton G, Tighe S, Walls R
COVID-19 pandemic reveals the peril of ignoring metadata standards.
Scientific data. 2020-06-19; 7.1: 188.
PMID: 32561801
Mavian C, Pond SK, Marini S, Magalis BR, Vandamme AM, Dellicour S, Scarpino SV, Houldcroft C, Villabona-Arenas J, Paisie TK, Trovão NS, Boucher C, Zhang Y, Scheuermann RH, Gascuel O, Lam TT, Suchard MA, Abecasis A, Wilkinson E, de Oliveira T, Bento AI, Schmidt HA, Martin D, Hadfield J, Faria N, Grubaugh ND, Neher RA, Baele G, Lemey P, Stadler T, Albert J, Crandall KA, Leitner T, Stamatakis A, Prosperi M, Salemi M
Sampling bias and incorrect rooting make phylogenetic network tracing of SARS-COV-2 infections unreliable.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2020-06-09; 117.23: 12522-12523.
PMID: 32381734
Grifoni A, Sidney J, Zhang Y, Scheuermann RH, Peters B, Sette A
A Sequence Homology and Bioinformatic Approach Can Predict Candidate Targets for Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2.
Cell host & microbe. 2020-04-08; 27.4: 671-680.e2.
PMID: 32183941
Aevermann BD, Pickett BE, Kumar S, Klem EB, Agnihothram S, Askovich PS, Bankhead A, Bolles M, Carter V, Chang J, Clauss TR, Dash P, Diercks AH, Eisfeld AJ, Ellis A, Fan S, Ferris MT, Gralinski LE, Green RR, Gritsenko MA, Hatta M, Heegel RA, Jacobs JM, Jeng S, Josset L, Kaiser SM, Kelly S, Law GL, Li C, Li J, Long C, Luna ML, Matzke M, McDermott J, Menachery V, Metz TO, Mitchell H, Monroe ME, Navarro G, Neumann G, Podyminogin RL, Purvine SO, Rosenberger CM, Sanders CJ, Schepmoes AA, Shukla AK, Sims A, Sova P, Tam VC, Tchitchek N, Thomas PG, Tilton SC, Totura A, Wang J, Webb-Robertson BJ, Wen J, Weiss JM, Yang F, Yount B, Zhang Q, McWeeney S, Smith RD, Waters KM, Kawaoka Y, Baric R, Aderem A, Katze MG, Scheuermann RH
A comprehensive collection of systems biology data characterizing the host response to viral infection.
Scientific data. 2014-10-14; 1.140033.
PMID: 25977790
Dominguez SR, Shrivastava S, Berglund A, Qian Z, Góes LGB, Góes LG, Halpin RA, Fedorova N, Ransier A, Weston PA, Durigon EL, Jerez JA, Robinson CC, Town CD, Holmes KV
Isolation, propagation, genome analysis and epidemiology of HKU1 betacoronaviruses.
The Journal of general virology. 2014-04-01; 95.Pt 4: 836-848.
PMID: 24394697
Pickett BE, Greer DS, Zhang Y, Stewart L, Zhou L, Sun G, Gu Z, Kumar S, Zaremba S, Larsen CN, Jen W, Klem EB, Scheuermann RH
Virus pathogen database and analysis resource (ViPR): a comprehensive bioinformatics database and analysis resource for the coronavirus research community.
Viruses. 2012-11-19; 4.11: 3209-26.
PMID: 23202522
Dominguez SR, Sims GE, Wentworth DE, Halpin RA, Robinson CC, Town CD, Holmes KV
Genomic analysis of 16 Colorado human NL63 coronaviruses identifies a new genotype, high sequence diversity in the N-terminal domain of the spike gene and evidence of recombination.
The Journal of general virology. 2012-11-01; 93.Pt 11: 2387-2398.
PMID: 22837419
Regan AD, Millet JK, Tse LP, Chillag Z, Rinaldi VD, Licitra BN, Dubovi EJ, Town CD, Whittaker GR
Characterization of a recombinant canine coronavirus with a distinct receptor-binding (S1) domain.
Virology. 2012-09-01; 430.2: 90-9.
PMID: 22609354
Wang S, Sundaram JP, Stockwell TB
VIGOR extended to annotate genomes for additional 12 different viruses.
Nucleic acids research. 2012-07-01; 40.Web Server issue: W186-92.
PMID: 22669909
Chang HW, Egberink HF, Halpin R, Spiro DJ, Rottier PJ
Spike protein fusion peptide and feline coronavirus virulence.
Emerging infectious diseases. 2012-07-01; 18.7: 1089-95.
PMID: 22709821
Vlasova AN, Halpin R, Wang S, Ghedin E, Spiro DJ, Saif LJ
Molecular characterization of a new species in the genus Alphacoronavirus associated with mink epizootic catarrhal gastroenteritis.
The Journal of general virology. 2011-06-01; 92.Pt 6: 1369-79.
PMID: 21346029
Eckerle LD, Becker MM, Halpin RA, Li K, Venter E, Lu X, Scherbakova S, Graham RL, Baric RS, Stockwell TB, Spiro DJ, Denison MR
Infidelity of SARS-CoV Nsp14-exonuclease mutant virus replication is revealed by complete genome sequencing.
PLoS pathogens. 2010-05-06; 6.5: e1000896.
PMID: 20463816
Alekseev KP, Vlasova AN, Jung K, Hasoksuz M, Zhang X, Halpin R, Wang S, Ghedin E, Spiro D, Saif LJ
Bovine-like coronaviruses isolated from four species of captive wild ruminants are homologous to bovine coronaviruses, based on complete genomic sequences.
Journal of virology. 2008-12-01; 82.24: 12422-31.
PMID: 18842722
Zhang X, Hasoksuz M, Spiro D, Halpin R, Wang S, Vlasova A, Janies D, Jones LR, Ghedin E, Saif LJ
Quasispecies of bovine enteric and respiratory coronaviruses based on complete genome sequences and genetic changes after tissue culture adaptation.
Virology. 2007-06-20; 363.1: 1-10.
PMID: 17434558
Zhang X, Hasoksuz M, Spiro D, Halpin R, Wang S, Stollar S, Janies D, Hadya N, Tang Y, Ghedin E, Saif L
Complete genomic sequences, a key residue in the spike protein and deletions in nonstructural protein 3b of US strains of the virulent and attenuated coronaviruses, transmissible gastroenteritis virus and porcine respiratory coronavirus.
Virology. 2007-02-20; 358.2: 424-35.
PMID: 17023013

Coronavirus Support

Your support directly funds novel coronavirus research. This is monumental effort, requiring a wide range of scientific solutions. We need your support

Principal Investigators

Related Research