Skip to main content

Understanding Evolution Through the Lens of COVID-19

Darwin made two very important discoveries. First, descent with modification which is the pattern of evolution. Descent with modification makes five important predictions; (1) species change through time, (2) lineages split and diverge, (3) novel forms derive from earlier forms, (4) species are connected by descent from common ancestors - they are not independent, and finally (5) both the earth and life are old. The first three predictions are microevolution, speciation, and macroevolution respectively. Darwin had believed that evolution was rather slow, however, we now know that evolution actually occurs rapidly. 

Microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses undergo rapid evolution. We are in the middle of a pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 since late 2019. The coronaviruses are named for their crown-like spikes on their surface. Coronaviruses that infect animals can evolve to new human coronaviruses. SARS-CoV-3 happens to be one that evolved from an animal coronavirus. This proves macroevolution - that novel forms derive from earlier forms. The other two were SARS-CoV, the beta coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and MERS-CoV, also a beta coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). [1]

Multiple variants of the SARS-CoV-2 have emerged. Scientists are closely monitoring the changes to the spikes on the surface of the virus through genetic analyses. Three variants have been identified. The United Kingdom (UK) identified B.1.1.7, a variant with many mutations. In South Africa, another variant emerged independently of B.1.1.7, labeled as B.1.351. Lastly, in Brazil, variant P.1 emerged, its mutations suggest that it may affect its ability to be recognized by antibodies. Public Health officials are researching to understand if these variants are detected by current viral tests, if they respond to medicines currently being used to treat COVID-19, and if it will change the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines. This proves microevolution, covid-19 has evolved within the last year. [2]

A study published by Li et. al. details the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 by utilizing the matrix representation with parsimony (MRP) pseudo-sequence supertree analysis. Their research showed that the bat coronavirus RaTG13 is not the last common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2. However, they are connected by descent from a common ancestor, Darwin's fourth prediction. 

MRP pseudo-sequence supertree for SARS-CoV-2. Claudes of MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 are highlighted and labeled. This demonstrates speciation. [3]

SARS-CoV-2 sub-clades common mutation sites similarity coded as the clades in the phylogenetic tree above [3]

By looking closer to the evolution of COVID-19, it goes to show that evolution is not only theory but also a fact by demonstrating the predictions of descent with modification - microevolution, speciation, macroevolution, and that species are connected by a common ancestor. 


Works Cited: 

[1] "Coronavirus." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Feb. 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/types.html 

[2] "New Variants of the Virus That Causes COVID-19". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Feb. 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html 

[3] Li, T., Liu, D., Yang, Y. et al. Phylogenetic supertree reveals detailed evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Sci Rep 10, 22366 (2020). https://doi-org.er.lib.k-state.edu/10.1038/s41598-020-79484-8

Labels:

Comments

  1. MichiFebruary 8, 2021 at 1:57 PM

    Hi Carmen
    This is awesome! Great job!
    Cheers, Michi

    ReplyDelete
  2. E GrahamFebruary 12, 2021 at 1:22 PM

    It's really interesting to see the pandemic viewed through an evolutionary lens. It makes sense that the variations of Covid would share a common ancestor and this perfectly demonstrates Darwin's idea of descent with modification.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CristinaFebruary 12, 2021 at 8:26 PM

    I've not considered looking at COVID from an evolutionary perspective all that much, but your blog post lays it out superbly and shows very well how everything is tied together, and the descent with modification. Great job, this was a great read.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Christopher AnFebruary 12, 2021 at 9:01 PM

    I read your blog post when you were given a shoutout during zoom class. I heard about the new variant that has come about in the United Kingdom, but I had no idea that there were 2 more where one was from South Africa and the other from Brazil (but then I don't really read/ watch the news). A lot of scientific articles use so many terminologies that would make it hard to read or even grasp, but I was able to follow and understand Covid in simpler terms through an evolution aspect with your blog post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loren ReedMarch 9, 2021 at 9:45 AM

    I really appreciate the fact that you made this applicable to what is going on right now worldwide. It's incredible to see Darwin's descent with modification principle in the evolution of COVID-19.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

     My name is Carmen Del Real, I am from the Old Wild West (Dodge City, Kansas).  Although I'm a Kansan, I've lived in California and often travel to Mexico. My friends and I on Highway 50, when we went Pokemon hunting.       I am passionate about education and healthcare. I currently work as a Certified Surgical Technologist and volunteer at the Flint Hills Community Center as a Medical Interpreter.       What fascinates me about biology is definitely physiology! I learned to really appreciate evolution. I often think about how the tools that we use and how the food that we consume affects humans and if our bodies will eventually be able to adapt. For example, highly processed food is known to be a contributor to diseases such as diabetes. Will our bodies adapt to did or is this something that can eliminate the humans or shall I say Homo sapiens.   During this semester, hope to learn how evolution is currently changing ...
3 comments
Read more

Part 10: Sexual Dimorphism in Female Pipefish

 Module 10: Sexual Selection  How is it possible for female pipefish ( Microphis deocata ) to court a male pipefish when is often the opposite? Figure 1: Female pipefish ( Microphis deocata ) [1] In class we learned that sexual selection explains sex differences so this evolutionary force must act differently in each sex. Often males tend to court a female because typically females are able to be choosy when selecting their mates. My hypothesis:   Sexual Dimorphism in female pipefish demonstrates that low variation in fitness and weak sexual selection is found in males leading to female pipefish to compete by advertising for mates as they now get chosen due to intersexual selection.  In the family of Syngnathidae, including pipefishes, have male pregnancy. This predisposes males to limit female reproductive success leading sexual selection to act more strongly on females with leads to female-female competition and male choice (reversed sex role) in pipefish...
Post a Comment
Read more

Evolutionary Fitness: How to Measure It

     Natural Selection is a process of sorting by the reproductive success that occurs in populations of replicating units. Where units can be defined as molecules, cells, organisms, or larger units.  There are four conditions for natural selection to occur: (1) the units expressing the trait must vary in their reproductive success; (2) the trait must vary among the units in the population; (3) the correlation between the trait and reproductive success must be nonzero (i.e. positive correlation with reproductive success will yield an increase in frequency and vice versa); and lastly (4) the trait must be heritable.       Fitness is a measure of relative reproductive performance that can be used to predict long-term dynamics. In other words, fitness is an organism's ability to survive and reproduce to contribute genetically to the next generation. Heritable traits that have greater fitness will increase in a population subject to natural selectio...
1 comment
Read more