ArticleInfection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics in infectious diseases2020
Evolutionary dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 accessory gene.
Article in Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics in infectious diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers.
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Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 137 citations in OpenAlex.
- The disappearance of ORF8 in human-adapted coronaviruses: the Cheshire cat paradigm.Virus genes · 2026Article
- Proteomic Analysis of COVID-19 Infection.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 ORF8: an accessory protein at the interface of immune evasion and inflammation.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- "Fertile" Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 RNA More Frequently Occurred in Hairpin Loops That Determine Virus Evolution.APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Non-spike protein inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by natural products through the key mediator protein ORF8.Molecular biology research communications · 2025Article
- Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 subgenomic RNAs that enhance viral fitness and immune evasion.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- A glimpse into viral warfare: decoding the intriguing role of highly pathogenic coronavirus proteins in apoptosis regulation.Journal of biomedical science · 2024Review
- Article
- Surfing the Waves of SARS-CoV-2: Analysis of Viral Genome Variants Using an NGS Survey in Verona, Italy.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Article
- Evolutionary deletions within the SARS-CoV-2 genome as signature trends for virus fitness and adaptation.Journal of virology · 2024Review
- SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 as a Modulator of Cytokine Induction: Evidence and Search for Molecular Mechanisms.Viruses · 2024Review
- Early monitoring-to-warning Internet of Things system for emerging infectious diseases via networking of light-triggered point-of-care testing devices.Exploration (Beijing, China) · 2023Article
- Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Δ426 ORF8 Deletion Mutant Cluster in NGS Screening.Microorganisms · 2023Article
- A neonatal mouse model characterizes transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 variants and reveals a role for ORF8.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Review
- Correlated substitutions reveal SARS-like coronaviruses recombine frequently with a diverse set of structured gene pools.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- The Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in CALABRIA: A Spatio-Temporal Report of Viral Genome Evolution.Viruses · 2023Article
- Article
- COVID-19 and pregnancy: clinical outcomes; mechanisms, and vaccine efficacy.Translational research : the journal of laboratory and clinical medicine · 2023Review
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The new SARS-CoV-2 poses a significant threat to human health but many aspects of its basic biology remain unknown. Its genome encodes accessory genes that differ significantly within coronaviruses and contribute to the virus pathogenicity. Among accessory genes, open reading frame 8 (ORF8) stands out by being highly variable and showing structural changes suspected to be related with the virus ability to spread. However, the function of ORF8 remains to be elucidated, making it less studied than other SARS-CoV-2 genes. Here I show that ORF8 is poorly conserved among related coronaviruses. The ORF8 phylogeny built using 11,113 SARS-CoV-2 sequences revealed traces of a typical expanding population with a small number of highly frequent lineages. Interestingly, I detected several nonsense mutations and three main deletions in the ORF8 gene that either remove or significantly change the ORF8 protein. These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can persist without a functional ORF8 protein. Deletion breakpoints were found located in predicted hairpins suggesting a possible involvement of these elements in the rearrangement process. Although the function of ORF8 remains to be elucidated, its structural plasticity and high diversity suggest an important role in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.