Host adaptation of codon usage in SARS-CoV-2 from mammals indicates potential natural selection and viral fitness

• Published in: Archives of virology Vol. 167; no. 12; pp. 2677 - 2688
• Main Authors: Fu, Yanan, Huang, Yanping, Rao, Jingjing, Zeng, Feng, Yang, Ruiping, Tan, Huabing, Liu, Zhixin, Du, Weixing, Liu, Long
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.12.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: ACE2; Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Chiroptera - genetics; Codon bias; Codon Usage - genetics; Codons; COVID-19; COVID-19 - virology; Disease transmission; Host Adaptation - genetics; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Medical Microbiology; Mink - genetics; Molecular dynamics; Mustela; Mutation; Natural selection; Original; Original Article; Pandemics; Reproductive fitness; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; SARS-CoV-2 - metabolism; Selection, Genetic - genetics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - metabolism; Spike protein; Virology; Viruses

SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, has expanded across various animal hosts, and the virus can be transmitted particularly efficiently in minks. It is still not clear how SARS-CoV-2 is selected and evolves in its hosts, or how mutations affect viral fitness. In this r...