亚博棋牌平台
Your source for the latest research news
Follow Subscribe RSS Feeds 亚博棋牌平台letters
New:
  • Planet Nine-Like Exoplanet Around Distant Star
  • Rapid Genomics Strategy to Trace Coronavirus
  • New Superhighway System in the Solar System
  • Sifting Out the First Gravitational Waves
  • Neanderthals Buried Their Dead: New Evidence
  • Spiders in Space: Making Webs Without Gravity
  • Pterosaur Precursors: Evolutionary Gap
  • Obesity Impairs Immune Cell Function
  • Science of Sandcastles Is Clarified, Finally
  • Risk of Advanced Cancers: Evolution to Blame?
advertisement
Follow all of 亚博棋牌平台's latest research news and top science headlines!
Science 亚博棋牌平台
from research organizations

1

2

Pinpointing the 'silent' mutations that gave the coronavirus an evolutionary edge

RNA folding may help explain how the coronavirus became so hard to stop after it spilled over from wildlife to humans

Date:
October 16, 2020
Source:
Duke University
Summary:
Researchers have identified a number of 'silent' mutations in the roughly 30,000 letters of the COVID-19 virus's genetic code that helped it thrive once it made the leap from bats and other wildlife to humans -- and possibly helped set the stage for the global pandemic.
Share:
FULL STORY

DNA and coronavirus | Credit: © peterschreiber.media / stock.adobe.com
DNA and coronavirus concept illustration (stock image).
Credit: © peterschreiber.media / stock.adobe.com
DNA and coronavirus | Credit: © peterschreiber.media / stock.adobe.com
DNA and coronavirus concept illustration (stock image).
Credit: © peterschreiber.media / stock.adobe.com

We know that the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 crisis lived harmlessly in bats and other wildlife before it jumped the species barrier and spilled over to humans.

advertisement

Now, researchers at Duke University have identified a number of "silent" mutations in the roughly 30,000 letters of the virus's genetic code that helped it thrive once it made the leap -- and possibly helped set the stage for the global pandemic. The subtle changes involved how the virus folded its RNA molecules within human cells.

For the study, published Oct. 16 in the journal PeerJ, the researchers used statistical methods they developed to identify adaptive changes that arose in the SARS-CoV-2 genome in humans, but not in closely related coronaviruses found in bats and pangolins.

"We're trying to figure out what made this virus so unique," said lead author Alejandro Berrio, a postdoctoral associate in biologist Greg Wray's lab at Duke.

Previous research detected fingerprints of positive selection within a gene that encodes the "spike" proteins studding the coronavirus's surface, which play a key role in its ability to infect new cells.

The new study likewise flagged mutations that altered the spike proteins, suggesting that viral strains carrying these mutations were more likely to thrive. But with their approach, study authors Berrio, Wray and Duke Ph.D. student Valerie Gartner also identified additional culprits that previous studies failed to detect.

advertisement

The researchers report that so-called silent mutations in two other regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, dubbed Nsp4 and Nsp16, appear to have given the virus a biological edge over previous strains without altering the proteins they encode.

Instead of affecting proteins, Berrio said, the changes likely affected how the virus's genetic material -- which is made of RNA -- folds up into 3-D shapes and functions inside human cells.

What these changes in RNA structure might have done to set the SARS-CoV-2 virus in humans apart from other coronaviruses is still unknown, Berrio said. But they may have contributed to the virus's ability to spread before people even know they have it -- a crucial difference that made the current situation so much more difficult to control than the SARS coronavirus outbreak of 2003.

The research could lead to new molecular targets for treating or preventing COVID-19, Berrio said.

"Nsp4 and Nsp16 are among the first RNA molecules that are produced when the virus infects a new person," Berrio said. "The spike protein doesn't get expressed until later. So they could make a better therapeutic target because they appear earlier in the viral life cycle."

More generally, by pinpointing the genetic changes that enabled the new coronavirus to thrive in human hosts, scientists hope to better predict future zoonotic disease outbreaks before they happen.

"Viruses are constantly mutating and evolving," Berrio said. "So it's possible that a new strain of coronavirus capable of infecting other animals may come along that also has the potential to spread to people, like SARS-CoV-2 did. We'll need to be able to recognize it and make efforts to contain it early."

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

provided by . Original written by Robin A. Smith. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Alejandro Berrio, Valerie Gartner, Gregory A. Wray. Positive selection within the genomes of SARS-CoV-2 and other Coronaviruses independent of impact on protein function. PeerJ, 2020; 8: e10234 DOI:

Cite This Page:

  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
Duke University. "Pinpointing the 'silent' mutations that gave the coronavirus an evolutionary edge: RNA folding may help explain how the coronavirus became so hard to stop after it spilled over from wildlife to humans." 亚博棋牌平台. 亚博棋牌平台, 16 October 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201016122403.htm>.
Duke University. (2020, October 16). Pinpointing the 'silent' mutations that gave the coronavirus an evolutionary edge: RNA folding may help explain how the coronavirus became so hard to stop after it spilled over from wildlife to humans. 亚博棋牌平台. Retrieved December 14, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201016122403.htm
Duke University. "Pinpointing the 'silent' mutations that gave the coronavirus an evolutionary edge: RNA folding may help explain how the coronavirus became so hard to stop after it spilled over from wildlife to humans." 亚博棋牌平台. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201016122403.htm (accessed December 14, 2020).

  • RELATED TOPICS
    • Health & Medicine
      • Viruses
      • Human Biology
      • Genes
      • HIV and AIDS
    • Plants & Animals
      • Virology
      • Genetics
      • Biology
      • Microbes and More
advertisement

  • RELATED TERMS
    • Pandemic
    • H5N1
    • Genetic code
    • Ebola
    • Global spread of H5N1 in 2006
    • Global spread of H5N1
    • Dolly the Sheep
    • Rachel Carson

1

2

3

4

5
RELATED STORIES

Coronavirus Mutation May Have Made It More Contagious
Oct. 30, 2020 — A study involving more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients in Houston finds that the virus that causes the disease is accumulating genetic mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious. This ...
Researchers Identify Evolutionary Origins of SARS-CoV-2
July 28, 2020 — By reconstructing the evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have discovered that the lineage that gave rise to the virus has been ...
COVID-19: Genetic Network Analysis Provides 'Snapshot' of Pandemic Origins
Apr. 9, 2020 — The first use of phylogenetic techniques shows the 'ancestral' virus genome closest to those in bats was not Wuhan's predominant virus type. The study charts the 'incipient supernova' of COVID-19 ...
Examining Potatoes' Past Could Improve Spuds of the Future
Oct. 30, 2017 — Examining the ancestors of the modern, North American cultivated potato has revealed a set of common genes and important genetic pathways that have helped spuds adapt over thousands of years. New ...
FROM AROUND THE WEB

亚博棋牌平台 shares links with sites in the and earns revenue from third-party advertisers, where indicated.
  Print   Email   Share

advertisement

1

2

3

4

5
Most Popular
this week

PLANTS & ANIMALS
Diet Modifications -- Including More Wine and Cheese -- May Help Reduce Cognitive Decline, Study Suggests
Oral Drug Blocks SARS-CoV-2 Transmission, Researchers Find
(c) (c) anibal / AdobeNeanderthals Buried Their Dead: New Evidence
EARTH & CLIMATE
Research Reveals How Airflow Inside a Car May Affect COVID-19 Transmission Risk
(c) (c) Mopic / AdobeResearchers Uncover Key Clues About the Solar System's History
(c) (c) harvepino / AdobeGreenland Ice Sheet Faces Irreversible Melting
FOSSILS & RUINS
Boy or Girl? It's in the Father's Genes
(c) (c) Catmando / AdobePaleontologists Find Pterosaur Precursors That Fill a Gap in Early Evolutionary History
Blue-Eyed Humans Have a Single, Common Ancestor
advertisement

Strange & Offbeat
 

PLANTS & ANIMALS
One's Trash, Another's Treasure: Fertilizer Made from Urine Could Enable Space Agriculture
Unexpected Insights Into Early Dinosaur's Brain, Eating Habits and Agility
Embryonic Development in a Petri Dish
EARTH & CLIMATE
Chance Played a Major Role in Keeping Earth Fit for Life
The Moon Controls the Release of Methane in Arctic Ocean
Honey Bees Fend Off Giant Hornets With Animal Feces
FOSSILS & RUINS
Unexpected Insights Into Early Dinosaur's Brain, Eating Habits and Agility
Researcher Adds to Timeline of Human Evolution by Studying an Island Fox
New 'Sea Dragon' Discovered Off UK Coastline
SD
  • SD
    • Home Page
    • Top Science 亚博棋牌平台
    • Latest 亚博棋牌平台
  • Home
    • Home Page
    • Top Science 亚博棋牌平台
    • Latest 亚博棋牌平台
  • Health
    • View all the latest top news in the health sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Health & Medicine
      • Allergy
      • Alternative Medicine
      • Birth Control
      • Cancer
      • Diabetes
      • Diseases
      • Heart Disease
      • HIV and AIDS
      • Obesity
      • Stem Cells
      • ... more topics
      Mind & Brain
      • ADD and ADHD
      • Addiction
      • Alzheimer's
      • Autism
      • Depression
      • Headaches
      • Intelligence
      • Psychology
      • Relationships
      • Schizophrenia
      • ... more topics
      Living Well
      • Parenting
      • Pregnancy
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Care
      • Men's Health
      • Women's Health
      • Nutrition
      • Diet and Weight Loss
      • Fitness
      • Healthy Aging
      • ... more topics
  • Tech
    • View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology,
      or browse the topics below:
      Matter & Energy
      • Aviation
      • Chemistry
      • Electronics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Nanotechnology
      • Physics
      • Quantum Physics
      • Solar Energy
      • Technology
      • Wind Energy
      • ... more topics
      Space & Time
      • Astronomy
      • Black Holes
      • Dark Matter
      • Extrasolar Planets
      • Mars
      • Moon
      • Solar System
      • Space Telescopes
      • Stars
      • Sun
      • ... more topics
      Computers & Math
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Communications
      • Computer Science
      • Hacking
      • Mathematics
      • Quantum Computers
      • Robotics
      • Software
      • Video Games
      • Virtual Reality
      • ... more topics
  • Enviro
    • View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Plants & Animals
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Animals
      • Biology
      • Biotechnology
      • Endangered Animals
      • Extinction
      • Genetically Modified
      • Microbes and More
      • New Species
      • Zoology
      • ... more topics
      Earth & Climate
      • Climate
      • Earthquakes
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • Geology
      • Global Warming
      • Hurricanes
      • Ozone Holes
      • Pollution
      • Weather
      • ... more topics
      Fossils & Ruins
      • Ancient Civilizations
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Early Humans
      • Early Mammals
      • Evolution
      • Lost Treasures
      • Origin of Life
      • Paleontology
      • ... more topics
  • Society
    • View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education,
      or browse the topics below:
      Science & Society
      • Arts & Culture
      • Consumerism
      • Economics
      • Political Science
      • Privacy Issues
      • Public Health
      • Racial Disparity
      • Religion
      • Sports
      • World Development
      • ... more topics
      Business & Industry
      • Biotechnology & Bioengineering
      • Computers & Internet
      • Energy & Resources
      • Engineering
      • Medical Technology
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Transportation
      • ... more topics
      Education & Learning
      • Animal Learning & Intelligence
      • Creativity
      • Educational Psychology
      • Educational Technology
      • Infant & Preschool Learning
      • Learning Disorders
      • STEM Education
      • ... more topics
  • Quirky
    • Top 亚博棋牌平台
    • Human Quirks
    • Odd Creatures
    • Bizarre Things
    • Weird World
Free Subscriptions

Get the latest science news with 亚博棋牌平台's free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

  • Email 亚博棋牌平台letters
  • RSS Feeds
Follow Us

Keep up to date with the latest news from 亚博棋牌平台 via social networks:

Have Feedback?

Tell us what you think of 亚博棋牌平台 -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

  • Leave Feedback
  • Contact Us
About This Site  |  Staff  |  Reviews  |  Contribute  |  Advertise  |  Privacy Policy  |  Editorial Policy  |  Terms of Use
亚博棋牌平台 foodfornoobs.com Copyright 2020 亚博棋牌平台 or by other parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.
Content on this website is for information only. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice.
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of 亚博棋牌平台, its staff, its contributors, or its partners.
Financial support for 亚博棋牌平台 comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated.
— CCPA: Do Not Sell My Information — — GDPR: Privacy Settings —