Positive selection within the genomes of SARS-CoV-2 and other Coronaviruses independent of impact on protein function.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The emergence of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) associated with severe acute respiratory disease (COVID-19) has prompted efforts to understand the genetic basis for its unique characteristics and its jump from non-primate hosts to humans. Tests for positive selection can identify apparently nonrandom patterns of mutation accumulation within genomes, highlighting regions where molecular function may have changed during the origin of a species. Several recent studies of the SARS-CoV-2 genome have identified signals of conservation and positive selection within the gene encoding Spike protein based on the ratio of synonymous to nonsynonymous substitution. Such tests cannot, however, detect changes in the function of RNA molecules.

Methods

Here we apply a test for b

SUBMITTER: Berrio A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7571416 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature