Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-07-25eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf052
Harriet Longley, David Bonsall, Joshua Herbeck, George MacIntyre-Cockett, Sandra E Chaudron, Laura Thomson, Nicholas Grayson, Andrew Mujugira, Christophe Fraser, Jairam Lingappa, Katrina Lythgoe
{"title":"Estimates of HIV-1 within-host recombination rates across the whole genome.","authors":"Harriet Longley, David Bonsall, Joshua Herbeck, George MacIntyre-Cockett, Sandra E Chaudron, Laura Thomson, Nicholas Grayson, Andrew Mujugira, Christophe Fraser, Jairam Lingappa, Katrina Lythgoe","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf052","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ve/veaf052","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recombination plays a pivotal role in generating within-host diversity and enabling HIV's evolutionary success, particularly in evading the host immune response. Despite this, the variability in recombination rates across different settings and the underlying factors that drive these differences remain poorly understood. In this study, we analysed a large dataset encompassing hundreds of untreated, longitudinally sampled infections using both whole-genome long-read and short-read sequencing datasets. By quantifying recombination rates, we uncover substantial variation across subtypes, viral loads, and stages of infection. We also map recombination hot and cold spots across the genome using a sliding window approach, finding that previously reported inter-subtype regions of high or low recombination are replicated at the within-host level. Importantly, our findings reveal the significant influence of selection on recombination, showing that the presence and success of recombinant genomes is strongly interconnected with the fitness landscape. These results offer valuable insights into the contribution of recombination to evolutionary dynamics and demonstrate the enhanced resolution that long-read sequencing offers for studying viral evolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf052"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12309388/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144755212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-07-11eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf053
{"title":"Correction to: Coevolutionary phage training and Joint application delays the emergence of phage resistance in <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ve/veaf053","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/ve/vead067.].</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf053"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12246780/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144627850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-07-07eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf051
Devin van Valkengoed, Astrid Bryon, Vera I D Ros, Anne Kupczok
{"title":"Insights into diversity, host range, and evolution of iflaviruses in Lepidoptera through transcriptome mining.","authors":"Devin van Valkengoed, Astrid Bryon, Vera I D Ros, Anne Kupczok","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ve/veaf051","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Insects are associated with a wide variety of diverse RNA viruses, including iflaviruses, a group of positive stranded RNA viruses that mainly infect arthropods. Whereas some iflaviruses cause severe diseases in insects, numerous iflaviruses detected in healthy populations of butterflies and moths (order: Lepidoptera) do not show apparent symptoms. Compared to other hosts, only few iflavirus genomes for lepidopteran hosts could be found in publicly available databases and we know little about the occurrence of iflaviruses in natural and laboratory lepidopteran populations. To expand the known diversity of iflaviruses in Lepidoptera, we developed a pipeline to automatically reconstruct virus genomes from public transcriptome data. We reconstructed 1548 virus genomes from 55 different lepidopteran species, which were identified as coding-complete based on their length. To include incompletely assembled genomes, we developed a reference-based patching approach, resulting in 240 patched genomes. By including publicly available genomes, we inferred a phylogeny consisting of 139 non-redundant iflavirus genomes. Of these, 65 represent novel complete genomes, of which 39 might even belong to novel virus species. Our analysis expanded virus host range, where highly similar viruses were found in the transcriptomes of different lepidopteran species, genera, or even families. Additionally, we find two groups of lepidopteran species depending on the diversity of viruses that infect them: some species were only infected by closely related viruses, whereas other species are infected by highly diverse viruses from different regions of the phylogeny. Finally, we show that the evolution of one virus species, <i>Iflavirus betaspexiguae</i>, is impacted by recombination within the species, which is also supported by the co-occurrence of multiple strains within the data sets. Our analysis demonstrates how data mining of publicly available sequencing data can be used at a large scale to reconstruct intra-family viral diversity which serves as a basis to study virus host range and evolution. Our results contain numerous novel viruses and novel virus-host associations, including viruses for relevant insect pests, highlighting the impact of iflaviruses in insect ecology and as potential biological control agents in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf051"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12315680/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144777023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-07-03eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf033
Stewart C Johnson, Lenora D M Turcotte, Ahmed Siah, Julia C Bradshaw, Mark P Polinski
{"title":"Analysis of Piscine orthoreovirus genotype 1 genomes collected over a 32-year period (1988-2020) suggests a fitness peak in salmon hosts with minimal evidence for temporal divergence.","authors":"Stewart C Johnson, Lenora D M Turcotte, Ahmed Siah, Julia C Bradshaw, Mark P Polinski","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf033","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ve/veaf033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Piscine orthoreovirus genotype-1 (PRV-1) is a double-stranded non-enveloped RNA virus that has two subtypes (PRV-1a and PRV-1b) with members of PRV-1b considered to be more virulent than members of PRV-1a. PRV-1 is commonly found in wild and farmed salmonids of the Northeast Pacific (PRV-1a only), North Atlantic and Chilean waters (PRV-1a and PRV-1b). We are interested in understanding the original source of PRV-1, the timing of its introduction, and the role that salmon farming has in the spread and maintenance of PRV-1 in the Northeast Pacific, as well as in other regions. To this end, we generated 179 concatenated coding genome sequences of PRV-1a from archived/historical, as well as contemporary clinical and environmental samples, collected primarily in the Northeast Pacific. These concatenated genomes, along with 152 concatenated genomes generated using sequences from GenBank, were used to generate Northeast Pacific (<i>n</i> = 302 genomes) and Global (<i>n</i> = 331 genomes) datasets. In both datasets, we found that evidence for a temporal signal is restricted to a single clade from the Northeast Pacific, so conducting divergence time estimations for the entire Northeast Pacific and Global datasets was not undertaken. However, partial PRV-1 sequences obtained from histology samples collected in 1977 show that PRV-1a has been in the Northeast Pacific for at least 47 years, and we propose based on the probability of detection, that it was likely widely distributed at that time. With the exception of a recently introduced genetic variant, WCAN_BC17_AS_2017, PRV-1a variants from the Northeast Pacific form 3 well-supported clades at the genome level. All clades contain sequences from farmed and wild salmon, although one PRV-1 clade was only detected in farmed/wild Pacific salmon and not in farmed Atlantic Salmon. This observation, along with the occurrence of identical PRV-1a genetic variants in wild and farmed fish, provides evidence for transfer between these groups in the Northeast Pacific. Our analysis of the Global dataset identified additional PRV-1 genetic structure in the North Atlantic and Chilean waters and the requirement for additional PRV-1 genomic sequencing from these areas to better understand these relationships. The high level of Global PRV-1 genetic homogeneity at the genome level and the prediction that both PRV-1a and PRV-1b are under strong negative/purifying selection, suggests that PRV-1 is at or near a fitness peak in most host populations. The majority of differences between PRV-1 genetic variants are synonymous mutations. Understanding the extent to which synonymous mutations determine the phenotypes of PRV-1 could help to explain why some genetically similar variants differ in their pathogenicity and virulence.</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf033"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12236806/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144592939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-07-02eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf050
Maria Jenckel, Wei-Shan Chang, Emily A Wright, Robert D Bradley, Robert J Dusek, Hon S Ip, Robyn N Hall, Ina L Smith, Tanja Strive
{"title":"Identification of novel hepaciviruses and <i>Sylvilagus</i>-associated viruses <i>via</i> metatranscriptomics in North American lagomorphs.","authors":"Maria Jenckel, Wei-Shan Chang, Emily A Wright, Robert D Bradley, Robert J Dusek, Hon S Ip, Robyn N Hall, Ina L Smith, Tanja Strive","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf050","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ve/veaf050","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cottontails (<i>Sylvilagus</i> spp.) and jackrabbits (<i>Lepus</i> spp.) within the Leporidae family are native to North America and are found in a wide range of habitats, including deserts, forests, and grasslands. Although there is a growing body of research describing the arrival of the highly virulent rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2, GI.2) on this continent, and its impact on native lagomorphs, information about the natural virome and microbiome of healthy and deceased American lagomorphs is relatively limited. In this study, we used a meta-transcriptomics approach to conduct whole pathogen profiling on healthy and deceased animals in the USA. We analysed 48 matched liver and lung sample pools from apparently healthy cottontails and jackrabbits in Texas and an additional 48 liver samples from deceased animals from nine other US states. This approach enabled the discovery of three distinct new viruses and revealed additional new insights into the lung and liver microbiomes of North American lagomorphs. Of the three new viruses, a tetnovirus and a novel picorna-like virus were likely of insect origin and therefore considered environmental contaminants. Of particular interest was a new species of hepacivirus, with around 50% sequence identity to a known hepacivirus from a xeric four-striped grass rat (<i>Rhabdomys pumilio</i>). Phylogenetic analysis from 41 individual hepacivirus genomes recovered from our lagomorph samples revealed two distinct clades, corresponding with different cottontail species. No hepaciviruses were detected in any of the jackrabbit samples. This is the first description of a hepacivirus in lagomorphs. Our findings extend the <i>Hepacivirus</i> genus, provide new insights into its evolution, and describe the first baseline on microbial diversity in North American lagomorphs, an important step towards understanding the role of potential pathogens for population management and conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf050"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12272853/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144676665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-07-01eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf049
Daisy Y M Ng, Wanying Sun, Thomas H C Sit, Christopher J Brackman, Anne C N Tse, Christine H T Bui, Amy W Y Tang, Andrew N C Wong, Andrew T L Tsang, Joe C T Koo, Samuel M S Cheng, Malik Peiris, Dmitry V Samborskiy, Alexander E Gorbalenya, Alex W H Chin, Leo L M Poon
{"title":"Surveillance of coronaviruses in wild aquatic birds in Hong Kong: expanded genetic diversity and discovery of novel subgenus in the <i>Deltacoronavirus</i>.","authors":"Daisy Y M Ng, Wanying Sun, Thomas H C Sit, Christopher J Brackman, Anne C N Tse, Christine H T Bui, Amy W Y Tang, Andrew N C Wong, Andrew T L Tsang, Joe C T Koo, Samuel M S Cheng, Malik Peiris, Dmitry V Samborskiy, Alexander E Gorbalenya, Alex W H Chin, Leo L M Poon","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf049","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ve/veaf049","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Migratory birds may carry emerging viruses over long distances. Regular surveillance and metagenomic analysis were employed to explore the diversity of avian coronaviruses at Hong Kong's Mai Po Wetland. We tested a total of 3239 samples collected from 2018 to 2024, among which the prevalence rate of viruses of the genus <i>Gammacoronavirus</i> (64.4%) was higher than that of <i>Deltacoronavirus</i> (35.6%). The host species were identified for 79.8% of the coronavirus-positive samples. Two deltacoronaviruses with full-genome sequences and one nearly complete gammacoronavirus genome were identified in faecal samples of three bird species. We also predicted putative transcriptional regulatory sequences and 3CLpro and PLpro cleavage sites for these viruses. Results from our phylogenetic analysis and pairwise amino acid identity comparisons, using the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses classification criteria based on the DEmARC framework, indicate that black-faced spoonbill coronavirus (BSCoV, strain MP22-1474) prototypes a new subgenus. Great cormorant coronavirus (GCCoV, strain MP18-1070) and falcated duck coronavirus (FDCoV, strain MP22-196) belong to two previously known species while diverging most profoundly from known viruses of these species. Two recombination events may have contributed to the evolution of FDCoV MP22-196 in genome regions from ORF1b to the S gene and from the M gene to the N gene. The cophylogenetic analysis between avian hosts and coronaviruses provides evidence for a strong linkage between viruses of the genus <i>Gammacoronavirus</i> and the birds of order <i>Anseriformes</i>. This study highlights the importance of ongoing surveillance for coronaviruses in wild migratory birds.</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf049"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12262178/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144644247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-06-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf045
Dayla Bott Geraldini, Cintia Bittar, Fabio Sossai Possebon, Carolina Gismene, Ricardo Barros Mariutti, Vivaldo Gomes da Costa, Guilherme Rodrigues Fernandes Campos, Rafael Cesário Beltrão, Guilherme Guerra Neto, Antônio Carlos Lofego, Mauricio Lacerda Nogueira, Raghuvir Krishnaswamy Arni, João Pessoa Araújo Junior, Marília de Freitas Calmon, Paula Rahal
{"title":"Identification of a putative new virus from the <i>Jingmenvirus</i> group in ticks from wild animals in Brazil.","authors":"Dayla Bott Geraldini, Cintia Bittar, Fabio Sossai Possebon, Carolina Gismene, Ricardo Barros Mariutti, Vivaldo Gomes da Costa, Guilherme Rodrigues Fernandes Campos, Rafael Cesário Beltrão, Guilherme Guerra Neto, Antônio Carlos Lofego, Mauricio Lacerda Nogueira, Raghuvir Krishnaswamy Arni, João Pessoa Araújo Junior, Marília de Freitas Calmon, Paula Rahal","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf045","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ve/veaf045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods that can transmit pathogens and are important vectors of diseases affecting wild and domestic animals, as well as humans, thus representing a serious risk to public health. Despite the growing concern about arboviruses, our understanding of tick-borne viruses remains limited compared to those transmitted by mosquitoes. We performed metagenomic analysis, focusing on the virome of ticks collected from wild animals in the countryside of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The experimental analysis highlighted important molecular evidence of a potential new virus from the <i>Jingmenvirus</i> group in ticks collected from wild animals. The four pools that were positive included <i>Amblyomma sculptum</i> and <i>A. nodosum</i> ticks, collected from <i>Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Callithrix penicillata</i>, and <i>Cerdocyon thous</i>. These data suggest that it is a new member of the <i>Jingmenvirus</i> group, which we propose to be named Rio Preto tick virus (RPTV). In addition, the RPTV genome was analysed <i>in silico</i>, and proteins with high homology to those of the <i>Jingmenvirus</i> group were identified. Here, we report the identification of a potentially novel virus found in ticks from wild animals in southeastern Brazil. This study contributes to the epidemiological surveillance of the region and helps to understand the potential risks of the emergence of zoonoses, which can impact human health, in addition to the potential impacts on the fauna.</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf045"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12262179/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144644246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-06-25eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf030
Abbey Evans, Damien C Tully
{"title":"Phylogenetic insights into the early spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant across Europe.","authors":"Abbey Evans, Damien C Tully","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf030","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ve/veaf030","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The evolution of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has profoundly influenced the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic. In late 2020, the Alpha variant (Pango lineage B.1.1.7) emerged in South East England, characterized by enhanced transmissibility, increased mortality, and rapid geographic expansion. Here, we studied the evolutionary history and migration dynamics of Alpha across Europe using genomic data sourced from 38 European countries. Our findings reveal that Alpha was introduced to over 25 European countries within 90 days of its emergence, with the UK accounting for 61% of early exportation events. However, as the epidemic progressed, several mainland European countries, including France, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, became significant hubs of onward transmission. Social mixing during the December holiday period and air travel facilitated the variant's rapid dissemination, as corroborated by air passenger flight volumes and viral introductions. Notably, genomic surveillance intensified after Alpha was designated a variant of concern, reducing the detection lag in countries with later introductions. Our study highlights the critical interplay between international mobility, surveillance efforts, and regional connectivity in shaping the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 variants and underscores the need for coordinated genomic surveillance and timely interventions to mitigate the spread of emerging pathogens.</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf030"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12223989/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144562100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-06-16eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf046
{"title":"Correction to: Increase of niche filling with increase of host richness for plant-infecting mastreviruses.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ve/veaf046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/ve/veae107.].</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf046"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12168078/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144310888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Virus EvolutionPub Date : 2025-06-15eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1093/ve/veaf047
Adi Ben Zvi, Natalie Rutsinsky, Bar Jacobi, Ido Fabian, Shir T Segev, Sheri Harari, Suzy Meijer, Yael Paran, Adi Stern
{"title":"Diverse patterns of intra-host genetic diversity in chronically infected SARS-CoV-2 patients.","authors":"Adi Ben Zvi, Natalie Rutsinsky, Bar Jacobi, Ido Fabian, Shir T Segev, Sheri Harari, Suzy Meijer, Yael Paran, Adi Stern","doi":"10.1093/ve/veaf047","DOIUrl":"10.1093/ve/veaf047","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In rare individuals with a severely immunocompromised system, chronic infections of SARS-CoV-2 may develop, where the virus replicates in the body for months. Sequencing of some chronic infections has uncovered dramatic adaptive evolution and fixation of mutations reminiscent of lineage-defining mutations of variants of concern (VOCs). This has led to the prevailing hypothesis that VOCs emerged from chronic infections. To examine the mutation dynamics and intra-host genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 during chronic infections, we focused on a cohort of nine immunocompromised individuals with chronic infections and performed longitudinal sequencing of viral genomes. We showed that sequencing errors may cause erroneous inference of genetic variation, and to overcome this, we used duplicate sequencing across patients and time points, allowing us to distinguish errors from low-frequency mutations. We further found recurrent low-frequency mutations that we flagged as most likely sequencing errors. This stringent approach allowed us to reliably infer low-frequency mutations and their dynamics across time. We applied a generalized linear model that accounts for gradual mutation accumulation and episodic divergence shifts to infer a synonymous mutation rate of 1.9 × 10<sup>-6</sup> mutations/site/day. Using the same framework, we inferred patient-specific non-synonymous divergence rates that exhibited marked heterogeneity across individuals. This framework also uncovered episodes of high non-synonymous rates consistent with selective sweeps or subpopulation replacement. Overall, we observed diverse evolutionary dynamics across chronic infections, highlighting variation in patient-specific selection pressures and within-host demographic histories that shape intra-host viral evolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":56026,"journal":{"name":"Virus Evolution","volume":"11 1","pages":"veaf047"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12257100/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144638772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}