Microbiological Characteristic of Novel Coronavirus

Novel SARS-cov-2 is a communicable disease that spreads through air droplets causing respiratory disease in humans especially immune-compromised individuals. Before the appearance of the novel coronavirus, six strains were known to infect humans. These coronaviruses have been evolved from bats, avians, mice, giraffes, whales or other animals. The pandemic causing novel SARS-cov-2 carries RNA as its genetic material with a genome size of 26-32 Kbps belonging to the family Coronaviridae. SARS-cov-2 genome contains six to eleven open reading frames (orfs) predicticting to encode structural proteins, accessory proteins and non-structural proteins (nsp) which is involved in viral replication in the host mediating viral pathogenesis. The initial attachment is initiated by interaction of te S protein and its receptor on the respiratory cell. Worldwide deposition of human SARS-cov-2 strains in the GISAID database plays a significant role in understanding and characterization of the COVID-19 disease. This chapter deals with the genome organization, morphology, replication in the host, pathogenesis and diagnostic methods of SARS-cov-2 that will be helpful for the readers to comprehend and plan strategies to combat against the disease and help in designing effective therapy and vaccines