Genomic characterization and phylogenetic analysis of SARS‐COV‐2 in Italy
Gianguglielmo Zehender, Alessia Lai, Annalisa Bergna, Luca Meroni, Agostino Riva, Claudia Balotta, Maciej Tarkowski, Arianna Gabrieli, Dario Bernacchia, Stefano Rusconi, Giuliano Rizzardini, Spinello Antinori, Massimo Galli
Abstract
This report describes the isolation, molecular characterization, and phylogenetic analysis of the first three complete genomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) isolated from three patients involved in the first outbreak of COVID-19 in Lombardy, Italy. Early molecular epidemiological tracing suggests that SARS-CoV-2 was present in Italy weeks before the first reported cases of infection.
Topics & Concepts
Phylogenetic treeVirologyOutbreakSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Molecular epidemiologyCoronavirusBiologyCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Isolation (microbiology)PhylogeneticsGenome2019-20 coronavirus outbreakPandemicContact tracingBetacoronavirusGeneticsMedicineGenotypeGeneMicrobiologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)PathologyDiseaseSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchAnimal Virus Infections Studiesvaccines and immunoinformatics approaches