Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38559344›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in microbiology2024

SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectra as variant of concern nurseries: endless variation?

Brenda Martínez-González, María Eugenia Soria, Pablo Mínguez, Ramón Lorenzo-Redondo, Llanos Salar-Vidal, Alberto López-García, Mario Esteban-Muñoz, Antoni Durán-Pastor, Pilar Somovilla, Carlos García-Crespo and 7 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in microbiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Methods to Characterize Mutant Spectra of RNA Viruses: The Case of SARS-CoV-2.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026
    Article
  2. SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectrum complexity is an epidemiologically evolvable trait.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.

Brenda Martínez-GonzálezDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
María Eugenia SoriaDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Pablo MínguezDepartment of Genetics and Genomics, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Ramón Lorenzo-RedondoDivision of Infectious Diseases, Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States.
Llanos Salar-VidalDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Alberto López-GarcíaHealth Research Institute IIS-FJD, Fundación Jiménez Diaz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
Mario Esteban-MuñozDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Antoni Durán-PastorDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
Pilar SomovillaCentro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
Carlos García-CrespoCentro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
Ana Isabel de ÁvilaCentro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
Jordi GómezInstituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra" (CSIC), Parque Tecnológico Ciencias de la Salud, Granada, Spain.
Jaime EstebanDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Ricardo Fernández-RoblasDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Ignacio GadeaDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IIS-FJD, UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Esteban DomingoCentro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CSIC-UAM), Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
Celia PeralesDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz · ESUniversidad Autónoma de Madrid · ESCentro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa · ESCentro Nacional de Biotecnología · ESConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas · ESInstituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López - Neyra" · ESNorthwestern University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 isolates of a given clade may contain low frequency genomes that encode amino acids or deletions which are typical of a different clade. Methods: Here we use high resolution ultra-deep sequencing to analyze SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectra. Results: In 6 out of 11 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from COVID-19 patients, the mutant spectrum of the spike (S)-coding region included two or more amino acids or deletions, that correspond to discordant viral clades. A similar observation is reported for laboratory populations of SARS-CoV-2 USA-WA1/2020, following a cell culture infection in the presence of remdesivir, ribavirin or their combinations. Moreover, some of the clade-discordant genome residues are found in the same haplotype within an amplicon. Discussion: We evaluate possible interpretations of these findings, and reviewed precedents for rapid selection of genomes with multiple mutations in RNA viruses. These considerations suggest that intra-host evolution may be sufficient to generate minority sequences which are closely related to sequences typical of other clades. The results provide a model for the origin of variants of concern during epidemic spread─in particular Omicron lineages─that does not require prolonged infection, involvement of immunocompromised individuals, or participation of intermediate, non-human hosts.

Indexed as

clade-discordant residuesCOVID-19ultra-deep sequencingvariant of concernviral emergenceviral quasispecies

Identifiers

PMID38559344
PMCPMC10979541
OpenAlexW4392814686

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.