Rapid transmission and tight bottlenecks constrain the evolution of highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants.

ABSTRACT: Transmission bottlenecks limit the spread of novel mutations and reduce the efficiency of natural selection along a transmission chain. Many viruses exhibit tight bottlenecks, and studies of early SARS-CoV-2 lineages identified a bottleneck of 1-3 infectious virions. While increased force of infection, host receptor binding, or immune evasion may influence bottleneck size, the relationship between transmissibility and the transmission bottleneck is unclear. Here, we compare the transmission bottleneck of non-variant-of-concern (non-VOC) SARS-CoV-2 lineages to those of the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants. We sequenced viruses from 168 individuals in 65 multiply infected households in duplicate to high depth of coverage. In 110 specimens collected close to the time of transmission, within

SUBMITTER: Bendall EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9580385 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature