Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a newly identified coronavirus of pigs that was first reported in Hong Kong in 2012. Since then, many PDCoV isolates have been identified worldwide. In this study, we analyzed the codon usage pattern of the S gene using complete coding sequences and complete PDCoV genomes to gain a deeper understanding of their genetic relationships and evolutionary history. We found that during evolution three groups evolved with a relatively low codon usage bias (effective number of codons (ENC) of 52). The factors driving bias were complex. However, the primary element influencing the codon bias of PDCoVs was natural selection. Our results revealed that different natural environments may have a significant impact on the genetic characteristics of the strains. In the future, more epidemiological surveys are required to examine the factors that resulted in the emergence and outbreak of this virus.
Keywords: Codon usage; Evolution; Mutation pressure; Nature selection; PDCoV.
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