The research team of Professor Zhao Jincun cooperated with Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Technology Center (State Key Laboratory of Biosafety Testing) and successfully separated China's first Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) ChinaGD01 strain. The separation was confirmed to be successful through methods such as RT- PCR (Fig. A), immunofluorescence (Fig. B) and whole genome sequencing. In addition, the team members also performed plaque purification and titer detection on the strain (Fig. C) to understand the virus characteristics. The work was co-implemented by post-doctoral researchers Wang Yanqun and Sun Jing, and the staff of biological safety protection third-level laboratory, who are Li Xiaobo, Shi Yongxia and Li Shufen.

The separation of the strains is of great significance for virological monitoring, timely detection of genetic characteristics, antigenicity, pathogenicity and drug resistance of the virus, the development of coping strategies for the virus pandemic and adjustment of prevention measures. Therefore, the separation of China's first MERS patient MERS-CoV ChinaGD01 strain will further promote the research of MERS-CoV in China and provide key technical material support for MERS epidemic prevention and control.