Rapid assembly of SARS-CoV-2 genomes reveals attenuation of the Omicron BA.1 variant through NSP6.

ABSTRACT: Although the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (BA.1) spread rapidly across the world and effectively evaded immune responses, its viral fitness in cell and animal models was reduced. The precise nature of this attenuation remains unknown as generating replication-competent viral genomes is challenging because of the length of the viral genome (~30 kb). Here, we present a plasmid-based viral genome assembly and rescue strategy (pGLUE) that constructs complete infectious viruses or noninfectious subgenomic replicons in a single ligation reaction with >80% efficiency. Fully sequenced replicons and infectious viral stocks can be generated in 1 and 3 weeks, respectively. By testing a series of naturally occurring viruses as well as Delta-Omicron chimeric replicons, we show that Omicron nonstructural

SUBMITTER: Taha TY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10120482 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature