Reverse genetic characterization of the natural genomic deletion in SARS-Coronavirus strain Frankfurt-1 open reading frame 7b reveals an attenuating function of the 7b protein in-vitro and in-vivo

@RealWsiegrist "...we cloned a full genome cDNA copy of Frankfurt-1 in a bacterial artificial chromosome downstream of a T7 RNA polymerase promoter." https://t.co/zzUQEN1RL8

Here's Drosten in 2010, saying they couldn't put the spike of BM48-31 (which he sequenced in 2008) into a SARS-CoV backbone (e.g. into the one he made in 2009 from 'Frankfurt-1') and see whether it grows, because: They didn't have bat cell lines 🤨 https:/

Though somehow I don't think this is the end of the story, yet. https://t.co/EBYCFEwu61

@CharlesRixey @BiophysicsFL Any idea why Drosten didn't attempt to make an infectious clone from BM-48? Or at least put its spike into the SARS clone he'd made around the same time? (Here mentioned bats were sampled in 2008, and he made a SARS-1 BAC clone