Evolutionary history, potential intermediate animal host, and cross‐species analyses of SARS‐CoV‐2

Abstract To investigate the evolutionary history of the recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in China, a total of 70 genomes of virus strains from China and elsewhere with sampling dates between 24 December 2019 and 3 February 2020 were analyzed. To explore the potential intermediate animal host of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, we reanalyzed virome data sets from pangolins and representative SARS‐related coronaviruses isolates from bats, with particular attention paid to the spike glycoprotein gene. We performed phylogenetic, split network, transmission network, likelihood‐mapping, and comparative analyses of the genomes. Based on Bayesian time‐scaled phylogenetic analysis…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 31470268
• NU
  Ningbo University
• KC
  K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University