Coronavirus Genomics and Bioinformatics Analysis

Basic information about coronavirus:

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause illnesses such as the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In 2019, a new coronavirus was identified as the cause of a disease outbreak that originated in China.

Figure:CoronaVirus

The virus is now known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease it causes is called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.

Human Coronavirus Types

Coronaviruses are named for the crown-like spikes on their surface. There are four main sub-groupings of coronaviruses, known as alpha, beta, gamma, and delta.

Human coronaviruses were first identified in the mid-1960s. The seven coronaviruses that can infect people are:

Common human coronaviruses

1. 229E (alpha coronavirus)
2. NL63 (alpha coronavirus)
3. OC43 (beta coronavirus)
4. HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

Other human coronaviruses

5. MERS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS)
6. SARS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS)
7. SARS-CoV-2 (the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19)

 Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may appear two to 14 days after exposure. This time after exposure and before having symptoms is called the incubation period. Common signs and symptoms can include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Other symptoms can include:

• Tiredness
• Aches
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Loss of smell
• Loss of taste
• Headache
• Diarrhea
• Severe vomiting 

Bioinformatics Analysis:

The drastic increase in the number of coronaviruses discovered and coronavirus

genomes being sequenced have given us an unprecedented opportunity to perform genomics

and bioinformatics analysis on this family of viruses. Coronaviruses possess the largest

genomes (26.4 to 31.7 kb) among all known RNA viruses, with G + C contents varying from

32% to 43%. Variable numbers of small ORFs are present between the various conserved

genes (ORF1ab, spike, envelope, membrane and nucleocapsid) and downstream to nucleocapsid gene in different coronavirus lineages. Phylogenetically, three genera,

Alphacoronavirus, Betacoronavirus and Gammacoronavirus, with Betacoronavirus consisting of subgroups A, B, C and D, exist. A fourth genus, Deltacoronavirus, which includes bulbul coronavirus HKU11, thrush coronavirus HKU12 and munia coronavirus HKU13, is emerging. Molecular clock analysis using various gene loci revealed that the time of most recent common ancestor of human/civet SARS related coronavirus to be 1999-2002,

with estimated substitution rate of 410-4 to 210-2 substitutions per site per year.

Recombination in coronaviruses was most notable between different strains of murine hepatitis virus (MHV), between different strains of infectious bronchitis virus, betweenMHV and bovine coronavirus, between feline coronavirus (FCoV) type I and canine coronavirus generating FCoV type II, and between the three genotypes of human coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1). Codon usage bias in coronaviruses were observed, with HCoV-HKU1 showing the most extreme bias, and cytosine deamination and selection of CpG suppressed clones are the two major independent biological forces that shape such codon usage bias in coronaviruses.[for more information about this research paper:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/2/8/1804]

Information Technology Works

What is Information Technology?

Well it is simple. Information technology (IT) involves the study and application of computers and any type of telecommunications that store, retrieve, and send information. IT involves a combination of hardware and software that is used to perform the essential tasks that people need and use everyday. 

Most IT professionals will work with an organization and technically understand what they need in order to meet their needs, showing them what the current technology is that is available to perform their required tasks, then their current Implementing technology in the setup, or creating an entire new set up.

Who are IT professionals, and what do they do?

Some IT people work behind the scenes to ensure that all the information systems we offer can run smoothly. These are database, network and system administrators.

• Others help in designing these information systems according to the needs of the organization. These are database, network, and system analysts.
• Others help develop hardware and software to make these systems more robust, reliable, and secure. They are hardware and software engineers.
• Still others ensure that this information is presented to users in a clear, useful, dynamic manner. These are web developers and designers.
• Instead of tran IT professionals, we will tackle the broader subject of IT by looking at undergraduate, graduate and professional certificate programs.

 Then we'll look at the most popular IT job title in detail, explaining what that person does and how they do it. We will look at salary expectations and overall job outlook for IT careers.

1) Undergraduate IT Program

Undergraduate IT degree programs and majors can be divided into three general categories: information science, computer science, and engineering. However, it should be noted that each of these majorities overlaps significantly with each other, with some courses called computer science in one school and engineering in another.

Information science, alternatively called information technology, is one of the broadest and most IT majors. Information science majors start from the beginning, learning common programming languages ​​and mathematical algorithms that make up hardware and software. They will then learn about operating systems, databases, networks, and security. Once they understand how this basic system works, they learn how to analyze the needs of an organization or business to create the best and most secure information system.

2) Graduate IT Program

Graduate school is a time to focus your education on a particular field of study and to understand and explore it deeply. For students interested in graduate level IT programs, the variety of programs available is as diverse as the IT profession.If you do a master's degree or doctorate in information technology, computer science or computer engineering, you will see that many of these courses are found at title graduate level. The main difference between undergraduate and graduate programs in these areas is the depth of coursework and the depth of original research opportunities.

For example, students in the university's graduate program in electrical and computer engineering take courses similar to the graduate program, but at a higher level, such as:

• Advanced Digital Integrated Circuit Design
• Advanced computer architecture
• The art and science of system level design
• Special Topics in Communication: Network Management and Control

Since graduate school has a time to ease your studies, several graduate IT programs have also been designed to develop specific job-related skills. For example, students who oversee the job of network and system analysts or administrators may obtain a master's degree in Information Networking (MSIN) or Information Security Technology and Management (MSISTM).

                                                                                              -Shweta Adsule.