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Molecular Analyses of Over Hundred Sixty Clinical Isolates of SARS-CoV-2: Insights on Likely Origin, Evolution and Spread, and Possible Intervention

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Preprints on COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2

Submitted:

20 March 2020

Posted:

23 March 2020

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Abstract

We are witnessing the severe third outbreak mediated by coronaviruses affecting global public health with unprecedented economic consequences. A better understanding of its phylogenetics, exploration of sequence features and mutational changes could unveil its genealogy to gain insights into the mechanism of transmission and development of possible interventions. Our comparative genomic analyses of >160 isolates of SARS-CoV-2 reveal phylogenetic kinship with other coronaviruses and emergence of evolutionary divergence in clinical isolates. t-SNE-based clustering revealed different clades but no continent specific clusters. Amino acid substitutions at RBD of spike protein provide possible reasons for rapid transmission. Few proteins specific to SARS-CoV-2 were identified which could have implications as therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers. Virtual screening identified repurposed drugs, known nutraceuticals, for specific interventions. These phylogenetic observations reveal the ancestry and computational studies reveal the emergency measures to interject this emerging pathogen that pose threat to whole of mankind.

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Subject: Biology and Life Sciences - Virology

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