Figure 1.

Schematic representation of forward and reverse genetic approaches. Forward genetics aims to identify the viral genotype that is responsible for a specific phenotype, whereas reverse genetic techniques enable the generation of an infectious virus from a cloned full‐length genome and the subsequent studies of the phenotypic effects of specific gene sequences in a biological system. Relevant animal models can used to study viral phenotypes, including virulence and transmissibility. ORF, open reading frame; SAR‐CoV‐2, Severe acute respiratory syndrome‐coronavirus 2