<scp>SARS‐CoV</scp> ‐2 variants: Relevance for symptom granularity, epidemiology, immunity (herd, vaccines), virus origin and containment?
Antoine Danchin, Kenneth N. Timmis
Abstract
The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains enigmatic. It is likely to be a continuum resulting from inevitable mutations and recombination events. These genetic changes keep developing in the present epidemic. Mutations tending to deplete the genome in its cytosine content will progressively lead to attenuation as a consequence of Muller's ratchet, but this is counteracted by recombination when different mutants co-infect the same host, in particular, in clusters of infection. Monitoring as a function of time the genome sequences in closely related cases is critical to anticipate the future of SARS-CoV-2 and hence of COVID-19.
Topics & Concepts
BiologyViral quasispeciesVirologyGenomeHerd immunityVirusGeneticsRecombinationPandemicCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)GeneVaccinationDiseaseInfectious disease (medical specialty)PathologyMedicineSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchAnimal Virus Infections StudiesViral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology