A Critical Reexamination of Recovered SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing Data
This article has been Reviewed by the following groups
Discuss this preprint
Start a discussion What are Sciety discussions?Listed in
- Evaluated articles (Arcadia Science)
Abstract
In 2021, Jesse Bloom published a study addressing why the earliest SARS-CoV-2 sequences in Wuhan from late December 2019 were not those most similar to viruses sampled in bats. The study concluded that recovered partial sequences from Wuhan and annotation of Wuhan links for other sequences increased support for one genotype as the progenitor of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, we show that the collection date for the recovered sequences was January 30, 2020, later than that of hundreds of other SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Mutations in these sequences also exhibit diversity consistent with SARS-CoV-2 sequences collected in late January 2020. Furthermore, we found that Wuhan exposure history was common for early samples, so Bloom's annotation for a single familial cluster does not support that an early genotype was undersampled in Wuhan. Both the recovered partial sequences and additional annotation align with contemporaneous data rather than increase support for a progenitor. Our findings clarify the significance of the recovered sequences and are supported by additional data and analysis published since mid-2021.
Article activity feed
-
-
The fact that thisnarrative captured so much attention despite a complete lack of supporting evidence promptsus to reflect on how our biases shape our interpretation of data, and how extreme differencesin believing people based on where they work can lead to incorrect and harmful conclusions.Here, we are reflecting on our experiences, and we invite readers to do the same.
Really interesting article!
Given the impact this had do you feel there are changes or criticisms needed around the review and publication process of the Bloom results? I'm also curious if you have any thoughts on how pre-print and open science can do a better job with contentious results and discussions around them.
-
