Using bioinformatics to hunt SARS-CoV-2, its variants & its origins – a practical guide
Abstract
Abstract
This Practical Guide outlines basic bioinformatics approaches for exploring the SARS-CoV-2 genome and its corresponding proteins, focusing on the protein exposed on the viral particle surface: the spike protein. The ways in which bioinformatics can be harnessed to study a new virus, its genome, its proteins, its origins and its evolution are explored.
Specifically, this Guide introduces a range of bioinformatics tools for comparing and analysing nucleotide and protein sequences. On reading the Guide and completing the exercises, you will be able to:
- discover SARS-CoV-2 genome(s) available in a public nucleotide repository;
- compare SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences, look for their differences (mutations) and identify the variants;
- translate the spike gene into its encoded protein sequence;
- discover the 3D structure of the spike protein;
- understand the impact of mutations on infectivity and immune responses; and
- infer the origin of SARS-CoV-2 by comparing coronavirus spike protein sequences from different animal origins.
Title | Using bioinformatics to hunt SARS-CoV-2, its variants & its origins – a practical guide |
Authors |
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Publication Type | Miscellaneous |
Year of Publication | 2021 |
URL | https://f1000research.com/documents/10-836 |
DOI | https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.7490/f1000research.1118746.1 |