Genetic and Structural Analyses of Coronaviruses: Insights into SARS-CoV-2 and Beyond

Dear Colleagues,

Coronaviruses are a large group of pathogenic viruses circulating in mammals and avians. Epidemic outbreaks have been recurrently caused by coronaviruses, the most recent of which was COVID-19, whose etiologic agent is SARS-CoV-2. 

The relevance of coronaviruses to human health, for example, of SARS-CoV-2, requires rigorous genomic surveillance and studies to understand their molecular complexity and characterize their evolving variants. The findings have immediate implications for human health and therapeutic strategies and, more broadly, may have significance for studies on the molecular evolution of other human viruses. 

We invite researchers to contribute to a Special Issue that delves into the molecular genetics and structural analyses of coronaviruses and their proteins using theoretical and/or experimental approaches. This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge and high-quality research that elucidates the molecular basis of these viruses, their transmission dynamics, and implications for human health and treatments. Topics of interest can be summarized, not exclusively, as follows: 

• The genomic characterization of coronaviruses and variants.
• Structural analyses of variant viral proteins and their functional implications also serving as targets for drugs.
• Evolutionary dynamics and mutation hotspots.
• Molecular host–virus interactions, pathogenesis, and immune responses.
• Implications for molecular diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccine development.

Prof. Dr. Stefano Pascarella
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.