Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to animals and potential host adaptation

SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, has infected a wide range of mammals. Secondary host jumps from humans to various mammals have been documented. This study compares SARS-CoV-2 genomes from animals (mink and white-tailed deer) to human genomes, analyzing mutational biases to assess adaptation. Five candidate mutations for mink adaptation and one for deer adaptation were identified, but these appear to confer minimal advantage for human-to-human transmission. Circulation in these animals did not significantly alter the mutation rate or evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2, suggesting minimal adaptation was required for transmission, highlighting the virus's generalist nature as a mammalian pathogen.

Cedric C. S. Tan, Su Datt Lam, Damien Richard, Christopher J. Owen, Dorothea Berchtold, Christine Orengo, Meera Surendran Nair, Suresh V. Kuchipudi, Vivek Kapur, Lucy van Dorp, François Balloux