Nels and Vincent review evidence for recombinant SARS-CoV-2 genomes arising in the B.1.1.7 lineage within the United Kingdom.
TWiEVO 66: SARS-2-mouse
- March 25, 2021
- Tagged as: B1.351, coronavirus, COVID-19, evolution, mouse, natural selection, P.1, pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, variants of concern, virus host range
Nels and Vincent review a preprint demonstrating that changes in the genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 variants B1.351 and P.1 allow the viruses to reproduce in mouse cells in culture and in laboratory mice.
Nels and Vincent review evidence that a single amino acid change in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has driven adaptation to humans, followed by an update on the status of variants of concern.
Nels and Vincent wrap up 2020 with a discussion of novel variants of SARS-CoV-2 that have emerged in the United Kingdom and South Africa, how to interpret the rapidly emerging genome sequence data and what to look for in the coming weeks as these variants spread across the globe.
Daniel joins Nels and Vincent to discuss his new book on army ants, the wickedest insects ever to roam the planet, and his research on them and clonal raider ants.
On the fifth anniversary of TWiEVO, Nels and Vincent invite 11 evolutionary biologists to describe exciting future directions for the field and their laboratory in the next five years.
TWiEVO 59: The hypothesis giving tree
- August 28, 2020
- Tagged as: amoeba, COVID-19, evolution, giant virus, mutation, natural selection, ORFan, pandemic, SARS-CoV-2
Nels and Vincent answer listener questions and discuss a newly discovered virus of amoeba with a nearly complete ORFan genome: none of the proteins encoded in the viral genome look like any other proteins.
Jessie, Allie and Tyler join Nels and Vincent to describe their work on deep mutational scanning of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain.
TWiEVO 54: Rough drafts of SARS-CoV-2 science
- April 25, 2020
- Tagged as: coronavirus, CoV, COVID-19, evolution, furin cleavage site, genome sequence, natural selection, SARS-CoV-2, viral, virology, virus
Nels and Vincent continue their discussion of SARS-CoV-2 from an evolutionary viewpoint, including function of the furin cleavage site, whether Vervet cells are an informative system, another bat isolate, and a nomenclature to assist genomic epidemiology.
TWiEVO 53: Virus evolution by land and by sea and by CoV, part II
- April 4, 2020
- Tagged as: CoV, COVID-19, evolution, genetic epidemiology, genome evolution, natural selection, SARS-CoV-2, viral, virology, virus, viruses
Nels and Vincent continue their discussion of SARS-CoV-2 from an evolutionary viewpoint, focusing on what the genome sequences tell us about the virus.