https://sputniknews.com/india/202106061083084750-indian-scientists-explored-wuhan-lab-leak-theory-before-covid-was-declared-pandemic-report-says/
Slightly over a month before the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic, several Indian scientists and experts reportedly flagged circumstantial evidence that suggested the virus had leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
On 31 January 2020, a team of biologists from the Kusuma School of Biological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi released a 22-page research paper on the bioRxiv online platform that suggested an "uncanny similarity" between aspects of SARS-CoV-2 and HIV.
During their study of the protein structure of the virus, the team found four unique inserts in the novel coronavirus glycoprotein not seen in any other coronaviruses. The inserts are critical for the virus to identify and latch onto host cells in humans and then multiply, media reports say.
The scientific study signalled the possibility of the virus having been engineered in a lab, but the team was simultaneously bombarded with criticism that led them to withdraw the paper soon after it was posted, according to the MIT Technology Review.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.30.927871v1
We are currently witnessing a major epidemic caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The evolution of 2019-nCoV remains elusive. We found 4 insertions in the spike glycoprotein (S) which are unique to the 2019-nCoV and are not present in other coronaviruses. Importantly, amino acid residues in all the 4 inserts have identity or similarity to those in the HIV-1 gp120 or HIV-1 Gag. Interestingly, despite the inserts being discontinuous on the primary amino acid sequence, 3D-modelling of the 2019-nCoV suggests that they converge to constitute the receptor binding site. The finding of 4 unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV, all of which have identity /similarity to amino acid residues in key structural proteins of HIV-1 is unlikely to be fortuitous in nature. This work provides yet unknown insights on 2019-nCoV and sheds light on the evolution and pathogenicity of this virus with important implications for diagnosis of this virus.
This paper has been withdrawn by its authors. They intend to revise it in response to comments received from the research community on their technical approach and their interpretation of the results. If you have any questions, please contact the corresponding author.