Abstract
COVID-19 is seriously threatening human health all over the world. A comprehensive understanding of the genetic mechanisms driving the rapid evolution of its pathogen (SARS-CoV-2) is the key to controlling this pandemic. In this study, by comparing the entire genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 isolates from Asia, Europe and America, and analyzing their phylogenetic histories, we found a lineage derived from a recombination event that likely occurred before March 2020. More importantly, the recombinant offspring has become the dominant strain responsible for more than one-third of the global cases in the pandemic. These results indicated that the recombination might have played a key role in the pandemic of the virus.
Keywords: COVID-19; Dominant strain; Homologous recombination; SARS-CoV-2.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2., Dominant strain, Homologous recombination, 【초록키워드】 Evolution, SARS-CoV-2, Europe, pandemic, virus, Asia, Health, pathogen, Lineage, Recombination, Homologous recombination, genome sequence, Phylogenetic, SARS-CoV-2 isolates, America, offspring, recombination event, driving, dominant, genetic mechanisms, responsible, occurred, indicated, genetic mechanism, SARS-CoV-2 isolate, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, dominant,