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During several months of 2003, a newly identified illness termed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spread rapidly through the world 1, 2, 3. A new coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was identified as the SARS pathogen 4, 5, 6, 7, which triggered severe pneumonia and acute, often lethal, lung failure 8. Moreover, among infected individuals influenza such as the Spanish flu 9, 10 and the emergence of new respiratory disease viruses 11, 12 have caused high lethality resulting from acute lung failure 13. In cell lines, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been identified as a potential SARS-CoV receptor 14. The high lethality of SARS-CoV infections, its enormous economic and social impact, fears of renewed outbreaks as well as the potential misuse of such viruses as biologic weapons make it paramount to understand the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV. Here we provide the first genetic proof that ACE2 is a …