The outbreak of
The New Coronary Pneumonia continues to spread globally, and the number of confirmed cases in many countries continues to increase. Recently, researchers at the University of Cambridge and other institutions have used genetic network technology to reconstruct the early "evolutionary path" of
the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19).
The new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic continues to spread globally, and confirmed cases in many countries continue to grow. Recently, researchers from the University of Cambridge and other institutions have used genetic network technology to reconstruct the early "evolutionary path" of
the new coronary pneumonia (COVID-19).
By analyzing the phylogenetic network of the complete genome of 160
novel coronavirus viruses (SARS-CoV-2), the researchers discovered three core variants of the virus: A, B, and C. Types A and C are found outside East Asia, mainly in Europe and the United States, while type B is the most common type in East Asia.
Dr. Peter Forster, a geneticist at the University of Cambridge, pointed out: "Too many rapid mutations, we cannot accurately draw the SARS-CoV-2 evolutionary tree. So, we use a mathematical network algorithm to observe all possible trees at the same time." Previous technology It is used to map the movement path of prehistoric humans. This is the first time it is used to trace the infection path of viruses.
Dr. Forster and colleagues collected the
SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes sampled from around the world from December 24, 2019 to March 4, 2020. They revealed three different variants of the virus, consisting of clusters of closely related lineages, and named them "type A", "type B" and "type C".
They found that the type A closest to the virus carried by bats exists in Wuhan, but surprisingly, it is not the main type of virus in Wuhan. They found a mutant version of type A among Americans who had been to Wuhan, and found a large number of type A viruses in patients in the United States and Australia.
The main type of virus in Wuhan is type B, which is common among patients throughout East Asia. However, in the absence of more mutations, the mutant strain did not spread widely outside East Asia, which means that a "founder event" occurred in Wuhan, and it may also be because people outside East Asia have type B resistance.
Type C is the main type in Europe and is found in early patients in France, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This mutant strain does not exist in samples from mainland China, but it has been found in Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea.
The new analysis also showed that one of the earliest ways to introduce the new coronavirus to Italy was related to the first patient diagnosed in Germany on January 27, while the other route of infection was related to the case in Singapore. It can be seen that the genetic network technology adopted by the researchers can accurately track the existing infection routes.
Therefore, the researchers believe that these phylogenetic methods can be applied to the latest coronavirus genome sequencing results to help predict the global hot spots of future disease transmission. "This kind of network analysis is expected to identify undocumented sources of transmission of
COVID-19, and then isolate them, thereby curbing the spread of the disease worldwide," said Dr. Forster.
These results were published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on April 8. The software used in the study and the classification of more than 1,000 coronavirus genomes are freely available from www.fluxus-technology.com.
The researchers found that the type A virus has recently been related to viruses carried by bats and pangolins, and they called them "the root cause of the outbreak." Type B virus is derived from type A and is separated by two mutations, while type C virus is the "daughter" of type B.
"The localization of type B virus in East Asia may be caused by the founder effect, that is, when a new type of virus is established in a small group of isolated infected people, genetic bottlenecks will occur. "The author said. However, they believe that there is another explanation worth considering.
Dr. Forster pointed out: "Wuhan type B virus may be suitable for most East Asian populations in terms of immunity or environment. It may require mutations to overcome resistance outside East Asia. At the initial stage, we seem to find that the mutation rate in East Asia is higher than other Slow everywhere. "
"The viral network we described in detail is a snapshot of the early epidemic, when the evolutionary path of
COVID-19 was masked by a large number of mutations," he added. "We are like catching a supernova on the spot."
Since the study was launched, the research team has analyzed 1,001 viral genomes. According to Forster, the latest research shows that the first infection and spread of
COVID-19 occurred between mid-September and early December, but the results have not yet been peer-reviewed.
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