Comparison of genomes of different species of coronaviruses using spectra of periodicities

Abstract

Abstract In the genomes of different organisms, there are periodicities, i.e. fragments of DNA (RNA)-sequences formed by tandem repetition of the basic monomer (period). The spectra of periodicities with lengths exceeding the ‘noise’ threshold are quite compact and visible even for complete genomes. This makes them an acceptable tool for differentiating closely related objects. The objects of analysis in this work are the periodicities at genomes of three species of coronavirus: MERS, SARS, and SARS-CoV-2. It has been shown that there are markers in the form of periodicities that make it possible to distinguish between these species of coronaviruses. None of the periodicities identified in the genomes of the MERS species (except for the poly-a tract in the 3‘UTR) is found in the genomes of SARS and SARS-CoV-2 and vice versa. Revealed periodicities common to SARS and SARS-CoV-2, as well as inherent only to genomes of one species. The number of periodicities in SARS and SARS-CoV-2 significantly exceeds the number of periodicities in random sequences. The periodicities found in almost all genomes of only ‘their’ species are of the greatest interest in terms of revealing the pathogenic potential of the virus.