APS April Meeting 2021
Volume 66, Number 5
Saturday–Tuesday, April 17–20, 2021;
Virtual; Time Zone: Central Daylight Time, USA
Session G03: Accelerators for Society
8:30 AM–10:18 AM,
Sunday, April 18, 2021
Sponsoring
Unit:
DPB
Chair: Sarah Cousineau, ORNL
Abstract: G03.00002 : COVID-19 Research at Neutron Sources
9:06 AM–9:42 AM
Live
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Hugh O'Neill
(Oak Ridge National Lab)
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide is marching towards one hundred million,
while the number of deaths is approaching a grim milestone of two million. This deadly disease
caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Coronavirus 2) has become one of the leading causes of death in 2020, according to the World
Health Organization. Although several vaccines have been developed to slow down the spread of
SARS-CoV-2, there is a need for therapeutic agents, including small-molecule drugs that inhibit
essential steps in the viral replication cycle. A large part of the genome of SARS-CoV-2 encodes
for non-structural proteins (NSPs) that assemble in the endoplasmic reticulum of infected cells to
support viral RNA synthesis and virus replication. These proteins display multiple functions and
activities and were shown to form various complexes. Understanding the dynamic assembly and
disassembly of NSPs and their interaction with RNA during virus replication is key to
development of effective therapeutic agents against COVID-19. In this presentation, I will
highlight how different neutron scattering techniques are being used for SARS-CoV-2 research.
Neutron macromolecular crystallography is being used to pinpoint critical hydrogen positions in
active sites of the main protease, a critical target for therapeutics development. Insights into how
the NSPs of the SARS-CoV-2 replication machinery assemble to form complexes with each
other and with viral RNA are being performed using small-angle neutron scattering. Interactions
of SARS-CoV-2 surface proteins with host cell membranes are being studied using neutron
reflectivity. Neutron spectroscopy techniques are providing information about the dynamical
properties of drug molecules that can be used to inform computational drug design studies. These
studies provide unique information about the SARS-CoV-2 replication machinery that is
unattainable by other means.