Multiple Recombination Events and Strong Purifying Selection at the Origin of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein Increased Correlated Dynamic Movements.

ABSTRACT: Our evolutionary and structural analyses revealed that the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike gene is a complex mosaic resulting from several recombination events. Additionally, the fixation of variants has mainly been driven by purifying selection, suggesting the presence of conserved structural features. Our dynamic simulations identified two main long-range covariant dynamic movements of the novel glycoprotein, and showed that, as a result of the evolutionary duality, they are preserved. The first movement involves the receptor binding domain with the N-terminal domain and the C-terminal domain 2 and is maintained across human, bat and pangolin coronaviruses. The second is a complex network of long-range dynamics specific to SARS-CoV-

SUBMITTER: Tagliamonte MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7794730 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature