Coronavirus mutation speed is estimated

Researchers from Great Britain found out that Sars-COV-2 coronavirus mutates almost once a week – which is twice as much as previously thought. The work of scientists was published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.

Earlier it was believed that Coronavirus muthes a pandemic of COVID-19 in two weeks. However, researchers from the Bat and Edinburgh universities showed that with earlier estimates did not take into account the mutations that were not sequenced, and their speed is actually from 49 to 67 percent higher. At the same time, specialists are celebrated, their assessment is most likely underestimated.

In general, scientists did not take into account mutations that brought to the “negative selection” – those that were harmful to SARS-COV-2. Viruses with such mutations, as a rule, simply did not “lived” in the human body, until their genome could be sequenced. “Our finds show that if the patient is sick of COVID-19 for more than weeks, the virus (in it – approx.” Tape.ru “) may evolve that in turn can lead to the emergence of new options,” one stressed from researchers, Professor of the University of Laurence Hurst.

Most of the “negative selection” was caused by mutations that shorten the proteins or disorders in their work. In addition, scientists revealed a positive selection of more stable virus proteins – which, in their opinion, allows the virus to maintain energy to maintain the supply of nutrients necessary for faster replication.

/Media reports.