Jingju Peng

TL;DR: Combined epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses indicate multiple independent introductions to Guangdong, although phylogenetic clustering is uncertain because of low virus genetic variation early in the pandemic.

TL;DR: Combined epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses indicate multiple independent introductions to Guangdong, although phylogenetic clustering is uncertain due to low virus genetic variation early in the pandemic.

TL;DR: Two deletion variants of SARS-CoV-2 that either directly affect the furin-like cleavage site itself (NSPRRAR) or a flanking sequence (QTQTN) are identified and investigated in cell isolates and clinical samples.

TL;DR: Data indicate the deletion of QTQTN, at the flank of polybasic cleavage site, is likely benefit the SARS-CoV-2 replication or infection in vitro but under strong purification selection in vivo since it is rarely identified in clinical samples; and there could be a very efficient mechanism for deleting this region from viral genome as the variants losing 23585-23599 is commonly detected after two rounds of cell passage.