Premium
SARS‐CoV‐2 virulence evolution: Avirulence theory, immunity and trade‐offs
Author(s) -
Alizon Samuel,
Sofonea Mircea T.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/jeb.13896
Subject(s) - biology , virulence , immunity , evolutionary biology , virology , genetics , gene , immune system
The COVID‐19 pandemic has led to a resurgence of the debate on whether host–parasite interactions should evolve towards avirulence. In this review, we first show that SARS‐CoV‐2 virulence is evolving, before explaining why some expect the mortality caused by the epidemic to converge towards that of human seasonal alphacoronaviruses. Leaning on existing theory, we then include viral evolution into the picture and discuss hypotheses explaining why the virulence has increased since the beginning of the pandemic. Finally, we mention some potential scenarios for the future.