英国牛津大学Oliver G. Pybus、爱丁堡大学Andrew Rambaut等研究人员合作揭示SARS-CoV-2大流行在英国的建立和谱系动态。2021年1月8日，《科学》杂志在线发表了这项成果。

通过分析50887个SARS-CoV-2基因组（其中包括来自英国第一波感染采样的26181个样本），研究人员对这种流行病的精细遗传谱系结构进行了分析。通过使用大规模的系统发育分析，并结合流行病学和旅行数据，研究人员量化了遗传上不同英国传播谱系的大小、时空起源和持久性。病毒输入率的快速波动导致了超过1000种谱系；在国家封锁之前引入的那些谱系往往更大、更分散。在封锁后，谱系输入和区域谱系多样性下降，而谱系淘汰则取决于大小。

研究人员讨论了遗传观点对COVID-19流行病学和控制传播动力学的影响。

附：英文原文

Title: Establishment and lineage dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in the UK

Author: Louis du Plessis, John T. McCrone, Alexander E. Zarebski, Verity Hill, Christopher Ruis, Bernardo Gutierrez, Jayna Raghwani, Jordan Ashworth, Rachel Colquhoun, Thomas R. Connor, Nuno R. Faria, Ben Jackson, Nicholas J. Loman, áine O’Toole, Samuel M. Nicholls, Kris V. Parag, Emily Scher, Tetyana I. Vasylyeva, Erik M. Volz, Alexander Watts, Isaac I. Bogoch, Kamran Khan, COVID- Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, David M. Aanensen, Moritz U. G. Kraemer, Andrew Rambaut, Oliver G. Pybus

Issue&Volume: 2021/01/08

Abstract: The UK’s COVID-19 epidemic during early 2020 was one of world’s largest and unusually well represented by virus genomic sampling. Here we reveal the fine-scale genetic lineage structure of this epidemic through analysis of 50,887 SARS-CoV-2 genomes, including 26,181 from the UK sampled throughout the country’s first wave of infection. Using large-scale phylogenetic analyses, combined with epidemiological and travel data, we quantify the size, spatio-temporal origins and persistence of genetically-distinct UK transmission lineages. Rapid fluctuations in virus importation rates resulted in >1000 lineages; those introduced prior to national lockdown tended to be larger and more dispersed. Lineage importation and regional lineage diversity declined after lockdown, while lineage elimination was size-dependent. We discuss the implications of our genetic perspective on transmission dynamics for COVID-19 epidemiology and control.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abf2946

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/01/07/science.abf2946