Genetics of COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: This narrative, non-systematic review provides an update on the genetic aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its interactions with the human genome within the context of COVID-19. Although the main focus is on the etiology of this new disease, the genetics of SARS-CoV-2 impacts prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, and the development of therapies.

Data source: A literature search was conducted on MEDLINE, BioRxiv, and SciELO, as well as a manual search on the internet (mainly in 2019 and 2020) using the keywords "COVID-19," "SARS-CoV-2," "coronavirus," "genetics," "molecular," "mutation," "vaccine," "Brazil," "Brasil," and combinations of these terms. The keywords "Brazil" and "Brasil" were used to find publications that were specific to the Brazilian population's molecular epidemiology data. Articles most relevant to the scope were selected non-systematically.

Data synthesis: A number of publications illustrate an expanding knowledge on the genetics and genomics of SARS-CoV-2 and its implications for understanding COVID-19.

Conclusions: Knowledge of the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence permits an in-depth investigation of the role its proteins play in the pathophysiology of COVID-19, which in turn will be enormously valuable for understanding the evolutionary, clinical, and epidemiological aspects of this disease and focusing on prevention and treatment.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Genetics, molecular, genomics; SARS-CoV-2.

Figure 1

The SARS-CoV-2 genome has many ORFs and encodes as far as 50 non-structural, structural, and accessory proteins. Source: Romano et al..

Figure 2

Four Structural Proteins in SARS-CoV-2. Spike (S), membrane (M), and envelope (E) are embedded in this outer membrane, providing the distinct shape and structure of the virus. Within the virus particle, the RNA is tightly coiled and coated with a fourth protein, nucleocapsid (N). Source: Slater..

Figure 3

Spike is subdivided into two subunits, S1 and S2, each with a different function. Source: Andersen et al..

Figure 4

Among all of the coronaviruses, only SARS-CoV-2 has the insertion of 4 amino acids in the spike located between s1 and s2, before the first s1/s2 cleavage site. Source: Andersen et al..