Research Progress of Coronavirus Reverse Genetics Technology

ABSTRACT In recent years, coronavirus, a kind of virus with a wide host range and high variability, has a large and complex genome. Research on the reverse genetics of coronaviruses has always been a hot spot. Coronavirus cannot only infect mammals, but also infect humans, showing its wide host adaptability. The mutation ability of the coronavirus is extremely strong. Recently, the rapid mutation rate of SARS‐CoV‐2 has made the development of vaccines and therapeutic methods face great challenges. At present, reverse genetics technology is a molecular biology tool. This process primarily involves cloning the full‐length genome cDNA of the virus onto a vector, and then reproducing the modified progeny virus in the cell to achieve accurate modification of the virus's genetic characteristics. This technology can explore the external characteristics of mutants and the evolution of their traits through artificial operations, such as knockout and site‐directed mutagenesis of specific genes, and then reveal the biological functions of genes. This article will review the research progress of the coronavirus reverse genetic operating system. In the past research, reverse genetics technology has made remarkable progress in the field of coronavirus research. Researchers have successfully constructed various reverse genetic systems for coronaviruses, including IBV, SARS‐CoV‐2, and MERS‐CoV. In addition, the reverse genetic system has also been used to study the cross‐species transmission capacity of the virus, which is of great significance for preventing possible future novel coronavirus epidemics.