In depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within-host dynamics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 and rare selection of novel spike variants.

SARS-CoV-2 has undergone repeated and rapid evolution to circumvent host immunity. However, outside of prolonged infections in immunocompromised hosts, within-host positive selection has rarely been detected. Here we combine daily longitudinal sampling of individuals with replicate sequencing to inc...

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Main Authors: Emily E Bendall, Derek Dimcheff, Leigh Papalambros, William J Fitzsimmons, Yuwei Zhu, Jonathan Schmitz, Natasha Halasa, James Chappell, Emily T Martin, Jessica E Biddle, Sarah E Smith-Jeffcoat, Melissa A Rolfes, Alexandra Mellis, H Keipp Talbot, Carlos Grijalva, Adam S Lauring
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-04-01
Series:PLoS Pathogens
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013134
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author Emily E Bendall
Derek Dimcheff
Leigh Papalambros
William J Fitzsimmons
Yuwei Zhu
Jonathan Schmitz
Natasha Halasa
James Chappell
Emily T Martin
Jessica E Biddle
Sarah E Smith-Jeffcoat
Melissa A Rolfes
Alexandra Mellis
H Keipp Talbot
Carlos Grijalva
Adam S Lauring
author_facet Emily E Bendall
Derek Dimcheff
Leigh Papalambros
William J Fitzsimmons
Yuwei Zhu
Jonathan Schmitz
Natasha Halasa
James Chappell
Emily T Martin
Jessica E Biddle
Sarah E Smith-Jeffcoat
Melissa A Rolfes
Alexandra Mellis
H Keipp Talbot
Carlos Grijalva
Adam S Lauring
author_sort Emily E Bendall
collection DOAJ
description SARS-CoV-2 has undergone repeated and rapid evolution to circumvent host immunity. However, outside of prolonged infections in immunocompromised hosts, within-host positive selection has rarely been detected. Here we combine daily longitudinal sampling of individuals with replicate sequencing to increase the accuracy of and lower the threshold for variant calling. We sequenced 577 specimens from 105 individuals in a household cohort during the BA.1/BA.2 variant period. Individuals exhibited extremely low viral diversity, and we estimated a low within-host evolutionary rate. Within-host dynamics were dominated by genetic drift and purifying selection. Positive selection was rare but highly concentrated in spike. A Wright Fisher Approximate Bayesian Computational model identified positive selection at 14 loci with 7 in spike, including S:448 and S:339. This detectable immune-mediated selection is unusual in acute respiratory infections and may be caused by the relatively narrow antibody repertoire in individuals during the early Omicron phase of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1553-7366
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language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Pathogens
spelling doaj-art-1f62e275c2da43f7bb97eb49c2769af22025-08-20T03:44:38ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Pathogens1553-73661553-73742025-04-01214e101313410.1371/journal.ppat.1013134In depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within-host dynamics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 and rare selection of novel spike variants.Emily E BendallDerek DimcheffLeigh PapalambrosWilliam J FitzsimmonsYuwei ZhuJonathan SchmitzNatasha HalasaJames ChappellEmily T MartinJessica E BiddleSarah E Smith-JeffcoatMelissa A RolfesAlexandra MellisH Keipp TalbotCarlos GrijalvaAdam S LauringSARS-CoV-2 has undergone repeated and rapid evolution to circumvent host immunity. However, outside of prolonged infections in immunocompromised hosts, within-host positive selection has rarely been detected. Here we combine daily longitudinal sampling of individuals with replicate sequencing to increase the accuracy of and lower the threshold for variant calling. We sequenced 577 specimens from 105 individuals in a household cohort during the BA.1/BA.2 variant period. Individuals exhibited extremely low viral diversity, and we estimated a low within-host evolutionary rate. Within-host dynamics were dominated by genetic drift and purifying selection. Positive selection was rare but highly concentrated in spike. A Wright Fisher Approximate Bayesian Computational model identified positive selection at 14 loci with 7 in spike, including S:448 and S:339. This detectable immune-mediated selection is unusual in acute respiratory infections and may be caused by the relatively narrow antibody repertoire in individuals during the early Omicron phase of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013134
spellingShingle Emily E Bendall
Derek Dimcheff
Leigh Papalambros
William J Fitzsimmons
Yuwei Zhu
Jonathan Schmitz
Natasha Halasa
James Chappell
Emily T Martin
Jessica E Biddle
Sarah E Smith-Jeffcoat
Melissa A Rolfes
Alexandra Mellis
H Keipp Talbot
Carlos Grijalva
Adam S Lauring
In depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within-host dynamics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 and rare selection of novel spike variants.
PLoS Pathogens
title In depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within-host dynamics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 and rare selection of novel spike variants.
title_full In depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within-host dynamics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 and rare selection of novel spike variants.
title_fullStr In depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within-host dynamics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 and rare selection of novel spike variants.
title_full_unstemmed In depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within-host dynamics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 and rare selection of novel spike variants.
title_short In depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within-host dynamics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 and rare selection of novel spike variants.
title_sort in depth sequencing of a serially sampled household cohort reveals the within host dynamics of omicron sars cov 2 and rare selection of novel spike variants
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1013134
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