Phylogenetic network analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes

Abstract 

In a phylogenetic network analysis of 160 complete human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) genomes, we find three central variants distinguished by amino acid changes, which we have named A, B, and C, with A being the ancestral type according to the bat outgroup coronavirus. The A and C types are found in significant proportions outside East Asia, that is, in Europeans and Americans. In contrast, the B type is the most common type in East Asia, and its ancestral genome appears not to have spread outside East Asia without first mutating into derived B types, pointing to founder effects or immunological or environmental resistance against this type outside Asia. The network faithfully traces routes of infections for documented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, indicating that phylogenetic networks can likewise be successfully used to help trace undocumented COVID-19 infection sources, which can then be quarantined to prevent recurrent spread of the disease worldwide.

Read full text: Phylogenetic network analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Peter Forster, Lucy Forster, Colin Renfrew, Michael Forster. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Apr 2020, 202004999; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004999117

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 evolution; SARS-CoV-2 ancestral type; SARS-CoV-2 subtype; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; SARS-Cov-2 genomes; #Phylogenetic; #NetworkAnalysis; #SARSCov2 .

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