Identification of evolutionarily stable functional and immunogenic sites across the SARS-CoV-2 proteome and greater coronavirus family

摘要: Motivation Since the first recognized case of COVID-19, more than 100 million people have been infected worldwide. Global efforts in drug and vaccine development to fight the disease have yielded vaccines and drug candidates to cure COVID-19. However, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants threatens the continued efficacy of these treatments. In order to address this, we interrogate the evolutionary history of the entire SARS-CoV-2 proteome to identify evolutionarily conserved functional sites that can inform the search for treatments with broader coverage across the coronavirus family. Results Combining coronavirus family sequence information with the mutations observed in the current COVID-19 outbreak, we systematically and comprehensively define evolutionarily stable sites that may provide useful drug and vaccine targets and which are less likely to be compromised …