A Portuguese research team published a research report on June 24, pointing out that they found about 50 genetic mutations in monkeypox virus samples, which shows that the virus has mutated at an unprecedented rate and is more likely to have accelerated evolution.
The research team from Portugal's National Institute of Health published the study in the journal Nature Medicine.
According to the report, the team studied some monkeypox virus samples and found that compared with samples from 2018 to 2019, there were about 50 single nucleotide polymorphisms (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, SNPs) and some Variation of the virus with increased infectivity.
SNP means a single base pair variation in a DNA sequence, in other words, it is the likelihood of two or more nucleotides occurring at a site on a gene.
Monkeypox virus is a type of orthopoxvirus (Orthopoxviruses), usually 1 to 2 substitutions per locus per year.
The team said this study found that the current mutation rate of monkeypox virus may be about 6 to 12 times faster than the normal mutation rate of orthopox virus.
These significant genetic changes may show that the virus has accelerated evolution.
João Paulo Gomes, a member of the research team and head of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Unit at Portugal's National Institute of Health, said it was not known whether these genetic variants had improved the ability of monkeypox virus to spread from person to person.
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