von drop et al 2020 Nat Communication, no evidence for increased transmission from recurrent mutations in SAERS-COV-2

The authors proposed a sister clade comparison method to detect transmission changes. The paper claim it is unbiased based on simulation and random permutation.  

in von dorp 2020, D614G has linkage disequilibrium with 3 other SNPs, and claim that no evidence support that D614G is associated with higher transmission. 

Potential caveats include low genetic diversity.  

HQ thinks the author did not address the methological problem of the phylogenetical method of bifurcation. What if it is a phylogenetic network? The author acknowledged that bifurcation and clade often have low support.