pathogen that was first isolated in 2012. MERS-CoV replication depends in part on a virus-
encoded papain-like protease (PL pro) that cleaves the viral replicase polyproteins at three
sites releasing non-structural protein 1 (nsp1), nsp2, and nsp3. In addition to this replicative
function, MERS-CoV PL pro was recently shown to be a deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) and
to possess deISGylating activity, as previously reported for other coronaviral PL pro …