Merbecovirus

Merbecovirus is a subgenus of viruses in the genus Betacoronavirus, including the human pathogen Middle East respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus. The viruses in this subgenus were previously known as group 2c coronaviruses.

Taxonomy

The subgenus contains the following species, listed by scientific name and followed by the exemplar virus of the species:Betacoronavirus cameli, Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV)Betacoronavirus erinacei, Hedgehog coronavirus 1Betacoronavirus pipistrelli, Pipistrellus bat coronavirus HKU5Betacoronavirus tylonycteridis, Tylonycteris bat coronavirus HKU4

Structure

The viruses of this subgenus, like other coronaviruses, have a lipid bilayer envelope in which the membrane, envelope and spike structural proteins are anchored.