Pathology

Disease

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Membrane

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Biology

Outbreak

Membrane protein

Virology

Chemistry

Coronavirus

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Sars virus

Computational biology

Cell biology

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Biochemistry

Medicine

Future Virology

Coronaviruses (CoVs) infect many species causing a variety of diseases with a range of severities. Their members include zoonotic viruses with pandemic potential where therapeutic options are currently limited. Despite this diversity CoVs share some common features including the production, in infected cells, of elaborate membrane structures. Membranes represent both an obstacle and aid to CoV replication – and in consequence – virus-encoded structural and nonstructural proteins have membrane-binding properties. The structural proteins encounter cellular membranes at both entry and exit of the virus while the nonstructural proteins reorganize cellular membranes to benefit virus replication. Here, the role of each protein in membrane binding is described to provide a comprehensive picture of their role in the CoV replication cycle.

Membrane Binding Proteins of Coronaviruses