COVID Variants, Villain and Victory: A Bioinformatics Perspective

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, a novel member of the Coronaviridae family, is responsible for the viral infection known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In response to the urgent and critical need for rapid detection, diagnosis, analysis, interpretation, and treatment of COVID-19, a wide variety of bioinformatics tools have been developed. Given the virulence of SARS-CoV-2, it is crucial to explore the pathophysiology of the virus. We intend to examine how bioinformatics, in conjunction with next-generation sequencing techniques, can be leveraged to improve current diagnostic tools and streamline vaccine development for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. We also emphasize how bioinformatics, in general, can contribute to critical areas of biomedicine, including clinical diagnostics, SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance and its evolution, identification of potential drug targets, and development of therapeutic strategies. Currently, state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools have helped overcome technical obstacles with respect to genomic surveillance and have assisted in rapid detection, diagnosis, and delivering precise treatment to individuals on time.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; bioinformatics; drug design; genomics; immunoinformatics.

Figure 1

Frequency of confirmed COVID-19 cases per million across the world as of June 2023 [4].

Figure 2

In silico vaccine development timeline [42,43].

Figure 3

Stacked bar chart displaying the rising rate of published computational methods across various domains over the years.