Identifying potential human and medicinal plant microRNAs against SARS-CoV-2 3′UTR region: A computational genomics assessment

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) began as an outbreak and has taken a toll on human lives. The current pandemic requires scientific attention; hence we designed a systematic computational workflow to identify the cellular microRNAs (miRNAs) from human host possessing the capability to target and silence 3′UTR of SARS-CoV-2 genome. Based on this viewpoint, we extended our miRNA search to medicinal plants like Ocimum tenuiflorum, Zingiber officinale and Piper nigrum, which are well-known to possess antiviral properties, and are often consumed raw or as herbal decoctions. Such an approach, that makes use of miRNA of one species to interact and silence genes of another species including viruses is broadly categorized as cross-kingdom interactions. As a part of our genomics study on host-virus-plant interaction, we identified one unique 3′UTR conserved site ‘GGAAGAG’ amongst 5024 globally submitted SARS-CoV-2 complete genomes, which can be targeted by the human miRNA ‘hsa-miR-1236–3p’ and by Z. officinale miRNA ‘zof-miR2673b’. Additionally, we also predicted that the members of miR477 family commonly found in these three plant genomes possess an inherent potential to silence viral genome RNA and facilitate antiviral defense against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In conclusion, this study reveals a universal site in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that may be crucial for targeted therapeutics to cure COVID-19.