SARS-CoV-2 genomic characterization and evolution in China
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2025

Quantification and Whole Genome Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Wastewater and Air Samples
Published on: June 30, 2023
Peng Zhang1, Dongzi Liu2, Lei Ji1
1Huzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 999 Changxing Road, Huzhou, Zhejiang, 313000, China.
Abstract:
The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affected global health worldwide due to its high contagiousness. During the viral spread, many mutations occurred within the virus genome. China has adopted nonpharmaceutical intervention (NPI) to contain COVID-19 outbreaks. In order to understand the evolution and genomic variation of SARS-CoV-2 in China under this policy, a total of 524 sequences downloaded from Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) between 2019 and 2022 were included in this study. The time-scaled evolutionary analysis showed that these sequences clustered in three groups (Group A-C). Group B and C accounted for the majority of the sequences whose divergence times were around 2020 and distributed in multiple regions. Group A was mainly composed of G variants, which were mainly isolated from several regions. Moreover, we found that 191 sites had mutations with no less than 3 times, including 30 amino acids that were deleted. Finally, we found that spike and nucleocapsid genes underwent positive selection evolution, indicating that the mutations within spike and nucleocapsid genes increased the SARS-CoV-2 contagiousness. Hence, this study preliminarily elucidates the evolutionary characteristics and genomic mutations of SARS-CoV-2 under the implementation of the NPI policy in China, providing scientific basis for further understanding the control effect of the NPI policy on the epidemic.
More Related Videos
08:41Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection in K18 hACE2 Transgenic Mice Using Reporter-Expressing Recombinant SARS-CoV-2
Published on: November 5, 2021
07:54Two-Step Reverse Transcription Droplet Digital PCR Protocols for SARS-CoV-2 Detection and Quantification
Published on: March 31, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs
Viral Mutations
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Gene Duplication and Divergence
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are...