EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Virus mutation happens quickly over weeks to months due to the high number of viruses and infected people. Since it was first discovered, SARS-CoV2 has been acquiring two mutations in its genome (complete set of DNA) every two weeks.

Detailed explanation-2: -The mutation rate of stable genomes is estimated to be 10−10/bp per cell generation (3). However, in certain physiologic conditions the rate of mutation increases dramatically. As one example, the immunoglobulin (Ig) genes can undergo mutation at a rate that exceeds the basal rate by more than a million-fold (1, 4, 5).

Detailed explanation-3: -RNA viruses have high mutation rates-up to a million times higher than their hosts-and these high rates are correlated with enhanced virulence and evolvability, traits considered beneficial for viruses.

Detailed explanation-4: -Rates of spontaneous mutation vary amply among viruses. RNA viruses mutate faster than DNA viruses, single-stranded viruses mutate faster than double-strand virus, and genome size appears to correlate negatively with mutation rate.