The molecular basis for SARS-CoV-2 binding to dog ACE2

SARS-CoV-2 can infect dogs. The dog ACE2 receptor can bind to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD). The crystal structure of RBD in complex with dog ACE2 receptor was solved, and it was found that the binding interfaces in this complex are fewer than those in the complex of RBD and human ACE2. This is consistent with the fact that the binding affinity of RBD to dog ACE2 is lower than that of human ACE2. These structural analyses demonstrated that the K417 and N501 of RBD play an important role for the receptor binding.