ArticleNature communications2024
Positive selection underlies repeated knockout of ORF8 in SARS-CoV-2 evolution.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Secreted ORF8 reprograms macrophages to enhance SARS-CoV-2 infection of lung epithelial cells.Science advances · 2026Article
- Secreted ORF8 reprograms macrophages to enhance SARS-CoV-2 infection of lung epithelial cells.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Viral evolution during primary infection in immunocompromised hosts.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- The disappearance of ORF8 in human-adapted coronaviruses: the Cheshire cat paradigm.Virus genes · 2026Article
- The race between viral immune evasion and the MHC class I antigen processing pathway.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Intrahost viral evolution of SARS-CoV-2 infections in rheumatic versus hematological patients with severe iatrogenic immunosuppression.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Evolution and viral properties of the SARS-CoV-2 BA.3.2 subvariant.Virus evolution · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 ORF8: an accessory protein at the interface of immune evasion and inflammation.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- A public health perspective of SARS-CoV-2 evolution and surveillance strategies in Germany from 2020 to 2023.Communications medicine · 2025Review
- Genomic and epidemiologic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 persistent infections in California, January 2021 - July 2023.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- What Has SARS-CoV-2 Taught Us About Evolution?Cureus · 2025Review
- Complete genome sequence analysis of Sarbecovirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronaviruses) from Zimbabwean insectivorous bats.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Article
- Rapid Emergence and Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Intrahost Variants among COVID-19 Patients with Prolonged Infections, Singapore.Emerging infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Ciprofloxacin-driven purifying selection on viral genomes accelerates soil NProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- The Recurring Loss of ORF8 Secretion in Dominant SARS-CoV-2 Variants.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Automated annotation and validation of human respiratory virus sequences using VADR.Database : the journal of biological databases and curation · 2025Article
- Forecasting framework for dominant SARS-CoV-2 strains before clade replacement using phylogeny-informed genetic distances.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Hidden evolutionary constraints dictate the retention of coronavirus accessory genes.Current biology : CB · 2024Article
- High protection and transmission-blocking immunity elicited by single-cycle SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in hamsters.NPJ vaccines · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
14 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Knockout of the ORF8 protein has repeatedly spread through the global viral population during SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Here we use both regional and global pathogen sequencing to explore the selection pressures underlying its loss. In Washington State, we identified transmission clusters with ORF8 knockout throughout SARS-CoV-2 evolution, not just on novel, high fitness viral backbones. Indeed, ORF8 is truncated more frequently and knockouts circulate for longer than for any other gene. Using a global phylogeny, we find evidence of positive selection to explain this phenomenon: nonsense mutations resulting in shortened protein products occur more frequently and are associated with faster clade growth rates than synonymous mutations in ORF8. Loss of ORF8 is also associated with reduced clinical severity, highlighting the diverse clinical impacts of SARS-CoV-2 evolution.
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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.