Article
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Geographic and Genomic Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 Mutations
Version 1
: Received: 29 April 2020 / Approved: 30 April 2020 / Online: 30 April 2020 (11:15:17 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 1 July 2020 / Approved: 3 July 2020 / Online: 3 July 2020 (09:45:43 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 1 July 2020 / Approved: 3 July 2020 / Online: 3 July 2020 (09:45:43 CEST)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Abstract
The novel respiratory disease COVID-19 has reached the status of worldwide pandemic and large efforts are currently being undertaken in molecularly characterizing the virus causing it, SARS-CoV-2. The genomic variability of SARS-CoV-2 specimens scattered across the globe can underly geographically specific etiological effects. In the present study, we gather the 10,014 SARS-CoV-2 complete genomes currently available thanks to the collection endeavor of the GISAID consortium and thousands of contributing laboratories. We analyze and annotate all SARS-CoV-2 mutations compared with the reference Wuhan genome NC_045512.2. Our analysis shows the prevalence of single nucleotide transitions as the major mutational type across the world. There exist at least three clades characterized by geographic and genomic specificity. In particular, the clade G, prevalent in Europe, carries a D614G mutation in the Spike protein, which is responsible for the initial interaction of the virus with the host human cell. Our analysis may drive local modulation of antiviral strategies based on the molecular specificities of this novel virus.
Keywords
SARS-CoV-2; genomics coronavirus; COVID-19 evolution
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Virology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Comments (0)
We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.
Leave a public commentSend a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
