Bioinformatics for the Origin and Evolution of Viruses.

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) caused by infection with human SARS-CoV-2 is a global threat to the human population. World effort has arisen toward the characterization of the origin and evolutionary features of this devastating virus. The development of high-throughput sequencing platforms has facilitated the surveillance of viral sequence diversity in both human and animal populations. Bioinformatics pipelines are readily available for ongoing virus tracking on a global level. In this chapter, we summarize the bioinformatics tools in the origin tracing and evolutionary analyses of viruses with a highlight in their application in SARS-CoV-2, which will facilitate the prevention of the pandemic as well as custom-designed antiviral strategies.