Evolutionary origins of the SARS-CoV-2 sarbecovirus lineage responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic
M. F. Boni, P. Lemey, X. Jiang, T. T.-Y. Lam, B. Perry, T. Castoe, A. Rambaut, D. L. Robertson
This paper estimates the divergence date of SARS-CoV-2 from its bat reservoir to be between 1948 and 1982, identifies non-recombinant regions for phylogenetic analysis, and highlights the role of horseshoe bats in viral emergence.
bioRxiv · Mar 30, 2020Evolutionary Biology