Abstract Wendy Mok¹, Kelly Seto² and Jon Stone³

¹Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton ON L8S 4K1, Canada. ²Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto ON M5S 1A8, Canada. ³Department of Biology and Origins Institute, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton ON L8S 4K1, Canada.

Abstract: Researchers routinely adopt molecular clock assumptions in conducting sequence analyses to estimate dates for viral origins in humans. We used computational methods to examine the extent to which this practice can result in inaccurate ‘retrodiction.’ Failing to account for dynamic molecular evolution can affect greatly estimating index case dates, resulting in an overestimated age for the SARS-CoV-human infection, for instance.

Discussion
No comments yet...Be the first to comment.

 CONNOTEA  CITEULIKE FACEBOOK LINKED IN