TWiEVO 71: Faster than a speeding coronavirus

Nels and Vincent explain a method to calculate the mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2, and the role of a single amino acid change in spike in enhancing fitness of the delta variant and enabling it to out-compete the alpha variant.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Links for this episode

• SARS-CoV-2 mutation rate (Genome Biology Evolution)
• Delta spike change enhances fitness (bioRxiv)
• Time stamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Science Picks

Nels – Leading Edge Symposium Vincent – Epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of SARS-CoV-2

Listener Pick

Thomas – The gene’s-eye view of evolution by J. Arvid Ågren

Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to [email protected]