Genomic validation of IRF3 antagonism by ORF4a, ORF4b, ORF5, and M in 272 human MERS-CoV isolates

This dataset provides a comprehensive genomic analysis of 272 human-derived MERS-CoV genomes, focused on the four interferon antagonists ORF4a, ORF4b, ORF5, and M identified by Yang et al. (Protein & Cell, 2013) as suppressors of IRF3 nuclear translocation and IFN-β production. For each isolate, the repository includes: Gene-specific variant calls (SNPs, in-frame and frameshift deletions)Protein-altering mutation statusQC metrics (gaps, Ns, protein length)Epidemiological metadata (country, year, location)Global and gene-specific summary statisticsPublication-ready, colorblind-safe visualizations This dataset empirically supports the functional role of all four proteins as IRF3 antagonists, demonstrating universal protein-altering variation and strong evolutionary constraint consistent with their non-redundant roles in immune evasion. Associated analysis files are included for full reproducibility.