SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: Viral Genomics, Epidemiology, Vaccines, and Therapeutic Interventions

• Main Authors: Mohammed Uddin, Farah Mustafa, Tahir A. Rizvi, Tom Loney, Hanan Al Suwaidi, Ahmed H. Hassan Al-Marzouqi, Afaf Kamal Eldin, Nabeel Alsabeeha, Thomas E. Adrian, Cesare Stefanini, Norbert Nowotny, Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Abiola C. Senok
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: Viruses
• Subjects: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; coronavirus; pandemic; viral genomics
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12/5/526

The COVID-19 pandemic is due to infection caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus that impacts the lower respiratory tract. The spectrum of symptoms ranges from asymptomatic infections to mild respiratory symptoms to the lethal form of COVID-19 which is associated with severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, and fatality. To address this global crisis, up-to-date information on viral genomics and transcriptomics is crucial for understanding the origins and global dispersion of the virus, providing insights into viral pathogenicity, transmission, and epidemiology, and enabling strategies for therapeutic interventions, drug discovery, and vaccine development. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive overview of COVID-19 epidemiology, genomic etiology, findings from recent transcriptomic map analysis, viral-human protein interactions, molecular diagnostics, and the current status of vaccine and novel therapeutic intervention development. Moreover, we provide an extensive list of resources that will help the scientific community access numerous types of databases related to SARS-CoV-2 OMICs and approaches to therapeutics related to COVID-19 treatment.