Open AccessProlonged detection of complete viral genomes demonstrated by SARS-CoV-2 sequencing of serial respiratory specimens
Author(s) -
Neta S. Zuckerman,
Efrat Bucris,
Oran Erster,
Michal Mandelboim,
Amos Adler,
S Burstein,
Noam Protter,
Moran Szwarcwort-Cohen,
Ella Mendelson,
Orna Mor
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0255691
Subject(s) - gene , genome , biology , covid-19 , dna sequencing , virology , disease , coronavirus , respiratory system , viral load , medicine , genetics , virus , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology , anatomy
Accurate and timely diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is clinically essential, and is required also to monitor confirmed cases aiming to prevent further spread. Positive real-time PCR results at late time points following initial diagnosis may be clinically misleading as this methodology cannot account for the infection capabilities and the existence of whole genome sequences. In this study, 47 serial respiratory samples were tested by Allplex-nCoV test (Seegene), a triplex of three assays targeting the SARS-CoV-2 RdRP, E and N genes and subsequently assessed by next generation sequencing (NGS). COVID19 patients were tested at an early stage of the disease, when all these viral gene targets were positive, and at an advanced stage, when only the N gene target was positive in the Allplex-nCoV test. The corresponding NGS results showed the presence of complete viral genome copies at both early and advanced stages of the disease, although the total number of mapped sequences was lower in samples from advanced disease stages. We conclude that reduced viral transmission at this late disease stage may result from the low quantities of complete viral sequences and not solely from transcription favoring the N gene.