Coronavirus accessory proteins are a unique set of proteins whose genes are interspersed among or within the genes encoding structural proteins. Different coronavirus genera, or even different species within the same coronavirus genus, encode varying amounts of accessory proteins, leading to genus- or species-specificity. Though accessory proteins are dispensable for the replication of coronavirus in vitro, they play important roles in regulating innate immunity, viral proliferation, and pathogenicity. The function of accessory proteins on virus infection and pathogenesis is an area of particular interest. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on accessory proteins of several representative coronaviruses that infect humans or animals, including the emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with an emphasis on their roles in interaction between virus and host, mainly involving stress response, innate immunity, autophagy, and apoptosis. The cross-talking among these pathways is also discussed.

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), an emerging enteropathogenic coronavirus, causes diarrhoea in suckling piglets and has the potential for cross-species transmission. No effective PDCoV vaccines or antiviral drugs are currently available. Here, we successfully generated an infectious clone of PDCoV strain CHN-HN-2014 using a combination of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based reverse genetics system with a one-step homologous recombination. The recued virus (rCHN-HN-2014) possesses similar growth characteristics to the parental virus in vitro. Based on the established infectious clone and CRISPR/Cas9 technology, a PDCoV reporter virus expressing nanoluciferase (Nluc) was constructed by replacing the NS6 gene. Using two drugs, lycorine and resveratrol, we found that the Nluc reporter virus exhibited high sensibility and easy quantification to rapid antiviral screening. We further used the Nluc reporter virus to test the susceptibility of different cell lines to PDCoV and found that cell lines derived from various host species, including human, swine, cattle and monkey enables PDCoV replication, broadening our understanding of the PDCoV cell tropism range. Taken together, our reporter viruses are available to high throughput screening for antiviral drugs and uncover the infectivity of PDCoV in various cells, which will accelerate our understanding of PDCoV.