Coronavirus evolution is the study of how coronaviruses change genetically over time through mutation, recombination, and selection, producing new variants and lineages that can differ in transmissibility, host range, and disease severity. Coronaviruses possess large RNA genomes and undergo frequent genetic recombin…
Coronavirus evolution is the study of how coronaviruses change genetically over time through mutation, recombination, and selection, producing new variants and lineages that can differ in transmissibility, host range, and disease severity. Coronaviruses possess large RNA genomes and undergo frequent genetic recombination, which contributes to their capacity to adapt to new hosts and environments. Tracking these changes through genomic sequencing helps researchers reconstruct viral ancestry, understand how strains diverge, and anticipate features relevant to diagnostics, treatment, and vaccine design. Research in the International Journal of Coronaviruses examines the molecular evolution of SARS-CoV-2, including analyses of the spike glycoprotein–coding gene to compare strains and clarify relationships among human and animal coronaviruses, and broader studies of the molecular evolution of the novel coronavirus. This work illustrates how sequence-level analysis reveals patterns of divergence and relatedness among circulating viruses. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research relevant to coronavirus evolution, offering an evidence-based resource for readers interested in how these viruses change at the genomic level and what that variation means for public health and the ongoing study of emerging coronaviruses.
7 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 7 articles above have been cited 9 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Coronavirus Evolution, linking to each citing work.