To trace the evolution of coronaviruses and reveal the possible origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we collected and thoroughly analyzed 29,452 publicly available coronavirus genomes, including 26,312 genomes of SARS-CoV-2 strains. We observed coronavirus recombination events among different hosts including 3 independent recombination events with statistical significance between some isolates from humans, bats and pangolins. Consistent with previous records, we also detected putative recombination between strains similar or related to Bat-CoV-RaTG13 and Pangolin-CoV-2019. The putative recombination region is located inside the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike glycoprotein (S protein), which may represent the origin of SARS-CoV-2. Population genetic analyses provide estimates suggesting that the putative introduced genetic sequence within the RBD is undergoing directional evolution. This may result in the adaptation of the virus to hosts. Unsurprisingly, we found that the putative recombination region in S protein was highly diverse among strains from bats. Bats harbor numerous coronavirus subclades that frequently participate in recombination events with human coronavirus. Therefore, bats may provide a pool of genetic diversity for the origin of SARS-CoV-2.
【저자키워드】 Evolution, Computational biology and bioinformatics, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, Coronavirus disease 2019, coronavirus, S protein, Genome, Genetic, spike glycoprotein, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, virus, Population, Receptor-binding domain, RBD, humans, RaTG13, Recombination, bat, genetic diversity, adaptation, respiratory, estimate, Strains, bats, Analysis, strain, acute respiratory syndrome, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, pool, statistical significance, sequence, hosts, SARS-CoV-2 strains, pangolins, recombination event, pangolin-CoV, coronavirus genomes, Host, isolate, independent, human coronavirus, analyzed, collected, introduced, the RBD, the receptor-binding domain, cause, directional, subclade, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, recombination event,