Host-specific asymmetric accumulation of mutation types reveals that the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is consistent with a natural process.

ABSTRACT: The capacity of RNA viruses to adapt to new hosts and rapidly escape the host immune system is largely attributable to de novo genetic diversity that emerges through mutations in RNA. Although the molecular spectrum of de novo mutations-the relative rates at which various base substitutions occur-are widely recognized as informative toward understanding the evolution of a viral genome, little attention has been paid to the possibility of using molecular spectra to infer the host origins of a virus. Here, we characterize the molecular spectrum of de novo mutations for SARS-CoV-2 from transcriptomic data obtained from virus-infected cell lines, enabled by the use of sporadic junctions formed during discontinuous transcription as molecular barcodes. We find that de nov

SUBMITTER: Shan KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8405235 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature