Sequencing Data of North American SARS-CoV-2 Isolates Shows Widespread Complex Variants
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Abstract
Several new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 have been isolated in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Many of the variants contain single variants of functional significance (e.g. S: N501Y increases transmissibility). To study the occurrence and co-circulation of these variants, we have developed an easy-to-use dashboard at janieslab.github.io/sars-cov-2 .
We created a multiple sequence alignment workflow and processing script to generate a variant dataset, which populates this dashboard. We then use the features of the dashboard, such as visualization of the single and complex nucleotide variants geospatially and in a color-coded matrix format. Users also interact with the dashboard to filter the underlying data to regions of interest and or variants of interest. The user can export reports based on the desired filters, which we intend to be used for regionally specific pandemic response. We find in Genbank, an isolate from Massachusetts containing [(S: Q677H), (ORF3a: Q57H), (M: A85S), (N: D377Y)] collected on September 11, 2020.
Moreover, we find that many viral isolates bear a marker of increased transmissibility (S: N501Y) in linkage with at least one variant of concern isolated from Ohio also range across the Untied States and stretch from British Columbia, Canada to Mexico. When we analyze co-circulation of more complex variant constellations with (S: N501Y), we note that the Upper Midwest and Northeast United States contain these isolates.
In summary, the viral variants that have raised concern in a few US States in recent reports are widespread. Based on the increase in the proportion of variant viruses being sampled and some empirical evidence in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Ohio, these variants are likely to lead to increased transmission of SARS-CoV-2 across North America in the coming months.
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SciScore for 10.1101/2021.01.27.21250648: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
NIH rigor criteria are not applicable to paper type.Table 2: Resources
Software and Algorithms Sentences Resources We aligned the data using MAFFT v7.310 (8) and edited out spurious ‘n’ characters added by data submitters. MAFFTsuggested: (MAFFT, RRID:SCR_011811)We did not curate the alignment beyond the last mutational position of interest, 29,402. Bioinformatics Data Preparation and Visualization: Using AliView (9), we selected mutational positions of interest and set each position aside as individual . AliViewsuggested: (AliView, RRID:SCR_002780)Results from OddPub: Thank you for sharing your code and data.
Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the …SciScore for 10.1101/2021.01.27.21250648: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
NIH rigor criteria are not applicable to paper type.Table 2: Resources
Software and Algorithms Sentences Resources We aligned the data using MAFFT v7.310 (8) and edited out spurious ‘n’ characters added by data submitters. MAFFTsuggested: (MAFFT, RRID:SCR_011811)We did not curate the alignment beyond the last mutational position of interest, 29,402. Bioinformatics Data Preparation and Visualization: Using AliView (9), we selected mutational positions of interest and set each position aside as individual . AliViewsuggested: (AliView, RRID:SCR_002780)Results from OddPub: Thank you for sharing your code and data.
Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- No protocol registration statement was detected.
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