An Overview of Mutations Occurring within the Coronavirus-2 Genome: Mutations Data Reporting on SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

In this research, we report the results of mutation analysis involving SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Using computational tools for assembly and mutation analysis, we have detected site-specific spontaneous mutations in coronavirus-2 genomes from different isolates. We compared the sample sequences of several countries and mapped those with the reference sequence for observing changes due to mutations that have resulted in genomic diversity and altered phenotype. Several SNPs have been identified within the key structural proteins of coronavirus-2 and we report indels that might have resulted in non-uniformity in length among SARS-CoV-2 sequences from different origins. The results are staggering but alarming; SARS-CoV-2 is mutating faster than it was thought. We detected 80 mutated bases at 47 positions among 11 sampled sequences mapped so far.

Note: Funding: None.

Conflict of Interest: None.

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic, homozygous indel, Spike protein, mutations, SARS-CoV-2

JEL Classification: ID1