Members of the IQFR Protein NMR Group collaborate with the International COVID19-NMR Consortium (https://covid19-nmr.de). The goals of this Consortium are to characterize all SARS-CoV-2 RNAs and proteins by NMR spectroscopy.

The IQFR Joins Forces with the International COVID19-NMR Consortium

Building on a project funding by the Institute of Health “Carlos III” and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, members of the IQFR Protein NMR Group have now teamed up with the International COVID19-NMR Consortium (https://covid19-nmr.de). The objectives of this Consortium are to characterize all the RNA and proteins of SARS-CoV-2 by NMR spectroscopy and to screen them for drugability with a small compound library. The collective effort to reach these ambitious goals will be enhanced by collaborating, sharing protocols and sample preparations, and avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort. Within the Consortium, the IQFR Protein NMR Group is currently focusing on characterizing putatively disordered regions of Nsp1, which degrades host mRNAs, and Nsp8/12, which forms part of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. These studies are developed in the “Manuel Rico” NMR Laboratory (LMR), a node of the Spanish Biomolecular Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory Network (R-LRB), a Unique Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS), which has pioneered NMR spectroscopy in Spain since 1964. As the sole CSIC laboratory and the only Spanish NMR protein group participating in the COVID19-NMR Consortium, we strengthen our international collaborations and collective efforts to fight SARS-CoV-2.