3.1 Genomic Organization of SARS-CoV-2
The CoV-2 is β-coronavirus with small genome size (~29.9Kb), forming 9860 amino acids (NC_045512.2) [17,18]. Currently about 0.3 million genomes have been sequenced and the data is accessible to researchers from Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID)[19] across the globe. The data could be analyzed for variations in viral proteins with reference sequence (GenBank accession number MN908947.3)[18,20]. CoV-2 mutations might affect the susceptibility to CoV-2 infection or severity of COVID-19. In the current study we screened about 0.3 million genome sequences for mutation in S, E, M, and N proteins. All the mutations were analyzed through CoVsurver application (https://www.gisaid.org/epiflu-applications/covsurver-mutations-app/). The structural proteins harbor a large number of mutations in different geographic regions (Supplementary files). However, the level of transmission and pathogenicity is largely unknown behind these variations. Geographic specific vaccines and drugs may be designed after careful analysis of mutations in the target’s proteins for better management of CoV-2 infections.