"Outlaw" mutations in quasispecies of SARS-CoV-2 inhibit replication.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of SARS-CoV-2, the agent of COVID-19, has been remarkable for its high mutation potential, leading to the appearance of variants. Some mutations have never appeared in the published genomes, which represent consensus, or bona fide genomes. Here we tested the hypothesis that mutations that did not appear in consensus genomes were, in fact, as frequent as the mutations that appeared during the various epidemic episodes, but were not expressed because lethal. To identify these mutations, we analysed the genomes of 90 nasopharyngeal samples and the quasispecies determined by next-generation sequencing. Mutations observed in the quasispecies and not in the consensus genomes were considered to be lethal, what we called "outlaw" mutations. Among these mutations, we analysed t

SUBMITTER: Colson P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11207925 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature