Persistence of a Frameshifting Deletion in SARS-CoV-2 ORF7a for the Duration of a Major Outbreak.

ABSTRACT: Australia experienced widespread COVID-19 outbreaks from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant between June 2021 and February 2022. A 17-nucleotide frameshift-inducing deletion in ORF7a rapidly became represented at the consensus level (Delta-ORF7a^Δ17del) in most Australian outbreak cases. Studies from early in the COVID-19 pandemic suggest that frameshift-inducing deletions in ORF7a do not persist for long in the population; therefore, Delta-ORF7a^Δ17del genomes should have disappeared early in the Australian outbreak. In this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis of global Delta genomes to characterise the dynamics of Delta-ORF7a^Δ17del over time, determined the frequency of all ORF7a deletions worldwide, and compared global trends with those o

SUBMITTER: Foster CSP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9966144 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature