Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 20, 2025

Genotypic Inference of HIV-1 Tropism Using Population-based Sequencing of V3
Published on: December 27, 2010
Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 transmission lineages in Ecuador
Bernardo Gutierrez1, Sully Márquez2, Belén Prado-Vivar2
1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3SY, UK.
Abstract:
Characterisation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genetic diversity through space and time can reveal trends in virus importation and domestic circulation and permit the exploration of questions regarding the early transmission dynamics. Here, we present a detailed description of SARS-CoV-2 genomic epidemiology in Ecuador, one of the hardest hit countries during the early stages of the coronavirus-19 pandemic. We generated and analysed 160 whole genome sequences sampled from all provinces of Ecuador in 2020. Molecular clock and phylogeographic analysis of these sequences in the context of global SARS-CoV-2 diversity enable us to identify and characterise individual transmission lineages within Ecuador, explore their spatiotemporal distributions, and consider their introduction and domestic circulation. Our results reveal a pattern of multiple international importations across the country, with apparent differences between key provinces. Transmission lineages were mostly introduced before the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions, with differential degrees of persistence and national dissemination.
Related Concept Videos
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs
Viral Mutations
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Causality in Epidemiology
Genetic Variation
Genes exist in different versions called alleles,...
Gene Flow

