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Related Concept Videos

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs01:05

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs

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A single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP is a single nucleotide variation at a specific genomic position in a large population. It is the most prevalent type of sequence variation found in the human genome. Point mutations that occur in more than 1% of the population qualify as SNPs. These are present once every 1000 nucleotides on an average in the human genome. Replacement of a purine with another purine (A/G) or a pyrimidine with another pyrimidine (C/T) is known as a transition. In contrast,...
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Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
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Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms02:18

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Genetic transfer occurs when genetic information is passed from one organism to another. It occurs via two mechanisms: vertical gene transfer and horizontal gene transfer. Vertical gene transfer occurs when genetic information is transferred from one generation to the next, which happens much more frequently than horizontal gene transfer. Both sexual and asexual reproduction are forms of vertical gene transfer, where one or more organisms pass some or all of their genome onto their progeny.
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When a pathogen enters the body and reproduces, it can cause an infection, damage body cells, and cause illness symptoms that eventually lead to disease. Therefore, its prevention requires breaking the chain of infection.
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Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

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In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
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SARS-CoV-2 within-host diversity and transmission.

Katrina A Lythgoe1,2, Matthew Hall1, Luca Ferretti3

  • 1Big Data Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK. Tanya.Golubchik@bdi.ox.ac.uk Katrina.Lythgoe@bdi.ox.ac.uk Matthew.Hall@bdi.ox.ac.uk.

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This summary is machine-generated.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants arise infrequently within individuals but can spread rapidly if transmitted. SARS-CoV-2 transmission involves a narrow bottleneck, limiting diversity persistence.

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Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Genomics
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Global sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 tracks virus spread and identifies new variants.
  • Variant spread depends on emergence frequency within hosts and transmission efficiency.
  • Understanding within-host diversity and transmission bottlenecks is crucial for pandemic response.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize within-host genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2.
  • To investigate the transmission bottleneck of SARS-CoV-2.
  • To assess the potential for rapid spread of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Main Methods:

  • Deep sequencing of 1313 clinical SARS-CoV-2 samples from the United Kingdom.
  • Phylogenetic analysis to observe variant patterns during transmission.
  • Quantification of within-host viral diversity at high viral loads.

Main Results:

  • SARS-CoV-2 infections exhibit low within-host diversity during high viral loads.
  • Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is characterized by a narrow bottleneck.
  • Most variants are lost during transmission, with minimal shared diversity persistence.
  • Phylogenetic patterns reflect these transmission dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • Transmission-enhancing or immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variants likely emerge infrequently.
  • Successful transmission of such variants can lead to rapid spread.
  • The narrow transmission bottleneck shapes the evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2.