Mutation patterns in SARS-COV-2 Alpha and Beta variants indicate non-neutral evolution

Due to the emergence of new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the question of how the viral genomes evolved, leading to the formation of highly infectious strains, becomes particularly important. Two early emergent strains, Alpha and Beta, characterized by a significant number of missense mutations, provide natural testing samples.

In this study we are exploring the history of each of the segregating sites present in Alpha and Beta variants of concern, to address the question whether defining mutations were accumulating gradually leading to the formation of sequence characteristic of these variants.

Our analysis exposes data features that suggest other than neutral evolution of SARS-CoV-2 genomes, leading to emergence of variants of concern. We observe only small number of possible combinations of mutations indicating rapid evolution of genomes. In addtion, mutation patterns observed in whole genome samples of Alpha and Beta variants also indicate presence of stronger selection than in remaining genome samples.