Coronavirus RaTG13 is the closest relative to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. RaTG13 is claimed to have been discovered by Chinese researchers in 2013, yet it did not make its public appearance until January 2020. Research papers claim two different sources for RaTG13―a bat and a manta ray.
SECTION I
Claim: RaTG13 was obtained from a bat in 2013.
The following excerpt is from the article HIV-1 did not contribute to the 2019-nCoV genome. It has the date February 14, 2020, and it is in the context of SARS-CoV-2:
However, it shares a high level of genetic similarity (96.3%) with a bat coronavirus RaTG13 which was obtained from bat in Yunnan in 2013, suggesting that RaTG13-like viruses are most likely the reservoir, but not the immediate sources of the current 2019-nCoV viruses.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/22221751.2020.1727299
This article says that RaTG13 was obtained from a bat in Yunnan in 2013, but it does not say when the genome was uploaded to a database:
Second, these insertions are present not only in 2019-nCoV viruses but also in three betaCoV sequences from bats: two (ZC45 and ZXC21) from Zhejiang deposited in GenBank in 2018 and RaTG13 from Yunnan obtained in 2013...Current data showed that RaTG13 is most closely related to 2019-nCoV.
Here’s the genome of RaTG13:
JOURNAL Submitted (27-JAN-2020) CAS Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens,
Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 44 Xiao Hong Shan, Wuhan, Hubei
430071, China
The next article is A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. This is the earliest mention found of RaTG13:
Full-length genome sequences of SARS-CoV BJ01, bat SARSr-CoV WIV1, bat coronavirus RaTG13 and ZC45 were used as reference sequences.
The latest date mentioned in this article (in the Abstract) is January 26, 2020:
The epidemic, which started on 12 December 2019, had caused 2,794 laboratory-confirmed infections including 80 deaths by 26 January 2020.
Yet, it was received by Nature on January 20, 2020:
- Received 20 January 2020
- Accepted 29 January 2020
- Published 03 February 2020
How is this possible? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2012-7
The next article A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China was also published online on February 3, 2020. The latest date mentioned in this paper is January 25, 2020, one day earlier than the previous paper. RaTG13 is not mentioned in this paper, and it is not shown in the phylogenetic trees in Figures 2, 5, and 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7094943/#MOESM2
SECTION II
Claim: RaTG13 was acquired from a manta ray in 2013.
Caution: These papers are from unsecured websites.
The following is titled RaTG13, the closest to an outbreak, is the wuhan virus, no one knew until January 24th. It has the date January 29, 2020, and it was copied as is in an English translation:
The closest RaTG13 is the Wuhan virus, and no one knows until January 24th. 96% of the same, but only the virus said, even if there is closer, has been destroyed bar Xi a great should immediately take control of the virus, detain all computers, copy all documents
The genetic sequence data for RaTG13 in this segment is not available in the U.S. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov database, so the researchers
The results were “the closest the new virus is to Zhoushan bat-like SARS-like virus”. Who knows that the Wuhan virus still has RaTG13 data. “It makes people angry.” Would gaofu withdraw the draft if it had this data? (Note: This is just A word of my breath.)
RaTG13 refers to the acquisition of SARS from a male Chinese chrysanthemum (sage) manta ray captured in Pu’er, Yunnan province, on July 24, 2013 Gene sequence. The sequence was uploaded to GISAID.org’s website yesterday (24 January) for public download. http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Military/55709621.html
So, if “yesterday” was January 24, 2020, then this report was written on January 25, 2020, even though it has the date of January 29, 2020. It says that RaTG13 was acquired from a chrysanthemum manta ray on July 24, 2013. The report also claims that RaTG13 was uploaded to GISAID.org on January 24, 2020, and that no one knew about RaTG13 until then. But the third paper from Section I with the date of January 25, 2020, does not mention RaTG13. Furthermore, RaTG13 was uploaded to the NIH database as “Bat” coronavirus RaTG13 no later than January 27, 2020. This is one day after the date of January 26, 2020, mentioned in the Abstract (even though it was received on January 20, 2020) in the article A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin published on February 3, 2020. So, it was made sure that RaTG13 was added to the NIH database before this article was published.
The following excerpt is from the article Science Trace: Who Brought the New Coronavirus to Wuhan. It has the date January 28, 2020, one day prior to the previous report. This paper mentions the chrysanthemum manta ray as well:
This conclusion coincides with an article published on the bioRxiv pre-print platform on 23 January, “Discovery of a novel coronavirus associated with the early pneumonia in humans and its it sit bat origin”: we take a bat coronavirus BatCoV A short RdRp region was found in RaTG13, a virus detected in the mid-chrysanthemum manta ray in Yunnan Province, which showed high sequence homologousness for 2019-nCoV, with a genome-wide sequence of homologousness of 96.2%. The system development analysis also shows that RaTG13 is a close relative of 2019-nCoV. https://tech.ifeng.com/c/7tb6xO0MZMG
Both papers in this section say that RaTG13 was taken from a chrysanthemum manta ray. The first paper from Section I says that RaTG13 was taken from a bat, and it has the date February 14, 2020. But RaTG13 is called “bat coronavirus” as early as February 3, 2020, as we see in the second paper from Section I. So, the two papers with the dates January 28 and 29 are saying that RaTG13 came from a manta ray although it had already been uploaded to the NIH database as “Bat coronavirus RaTG13” no later than January 27, 2020. So, we are being told two different stories at the same time.
The following is from the article Tang: Who made the virus? The mystery has been solved. It has the date of February 20, 2020:
After the peer’s simple web search found the “Zhoushan bat”, a team of researchers from Wuhan Virus Institute Shi Zhengli provided the “RaTG13” virus information they captured in 2013, but has not yet uploaded an international database.
This paper says that researchers provided RaTG13 virus information they “captured in 2013,” but had not yet loaded it to an international database. Although no direct source for RaTG13 is given in this paper, we might assume the researchers are referring to bats:
Shi Zhengli team published the Difference curve between RaTG13 (blue) and Zhoushan bats (pink), SARS (red, green), RaTG13 is indeed the closest.
Let’s continue reading:
This is the subject of an ulterior-hearted rant – isn’t that what you’re doing? These people borrow RaTG13 information disclosure, point the finger at Shi Zhengli researchers and Wuhan virus institute, which is even more slanderous.
The simplest reasoning is – if it’s really based on RaTG13, why does Shi Zhengli’s team take the initiative to publish information about “virus transformation prototypes” that no one else knows or knows? Besides, there are many genes of various viruses in the world, more than SARS, really want to study virus weapons, you have to stare at SARS? http://news.ifeng.com/c/7uEAypVO6jo
CONCLUSION
This isn’t just a simple contradiction; these claims overlap on the timeline. Until this is explained and an intermediate host is found, a conclusion cannot be reached whether RaTG13 is zoonotic or bioengineered. China has saturated the scientific community with papers that are contradictory and highly dubious. Chinese New Year 2020 is The Year of the RaTG13.
So, did RaTG13 originate from a bat or a manta ray? Was it discovered in the year 2013 and then added to the database after the outbreak of COVID-19? Does it even matter now? Wherever RaTG13 originated, SARS-CoV-2 is here, and it has defiled the planet and the human race. Ultimately, no one is getting away with anything.
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