Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an enveloped positive-stranded RNA virus and the causative agent of COVID-19, a primarily respiratory illness characterized by fever, cough, and shortness of breath that can lead to life-threatening complications.1,2,3,4,5 The SARS-CoV-2 genome contains approximately 30 kilobases and 14 open reading frames (ORFs) that encode four structural proteins: spike, envelope, membrane, and nucleocapsid, as well as 16 non-structural proteins and 9 accessory factors.6 SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 7 (nsp7) is encoded within ORF1ab and is a cofactor in the RNA replication transcriptional complex. nsp7 is highly conserved in coronaviruses, and in SARS-CoV-2 it forms a decameric RNA replication transcriptional complex with the RNA polymerase cofactor nsp8 and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) nsp12.7 Mutations in the nsp7-nps8 binding interface reduce the stability of the RNA replication transcriptional complex, leading to impaired RNA polymerase activity.8WARNING This product is not for human or veterinary use.
