Mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of mutators during experimental evolution

Abstract

These results provide valuable information on how spontaneous mutations emerge in SARS-CoV-2 and on how selection can shape its genome toward adaptation to new environments. <b>Lay Summary:</b> Each time a virus replicates inside a cell, errors (mutations) occur. Here, via laboratory propagation in cells originally isolated from the kidney epithelium of African green monkeys, we estimated the rate at which the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates-an important parameter for understanding how it can evolve within and across humans. We also confirm the potential of its Spike protein to adapt to a new environment and report the emergence of mutators-viral populations where mutations occur at a significantly faster rate.