Abstract
To investigate the specific genomic features and mutation pattern, whole and near-complete SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences were analyzed. Clinical samples were collected from 18 COVID-19-positive patients and subjected to nucleic acid purification. Cell culture was performed to extract various SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Whole-genome analysis was performed using next-generation sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses were conducted to determine genetic diversity of the various SARS-CoV-2 isolates. The next-generation sequencing data identified 8 protein-coding regions with 17 mutated proteins. We identified 51 missense point mutations and deletions in 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that V and GH are the dominant clades of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in the Gwangju region of South Korea. Moreover, statistical analysis confirmed a significant difference between viral load (P < 0.001) and number of mutations (P < 0.0001) in 2 mutually exclusive SARS-CoV-2 clades which indicates frequent genomic alterations in SARS-CoV-2 in patients with high viral load. Our results provide an in-depth analysis of SARS-COV-2 whole genome which we believe, can shed light in the understanding of SARS-COV-2 pathogenesis and mutation pattern which can aid in the development of prevention methods as well as future research into the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and therapeutic development.
【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Mutation, Pathogenesis, Proteins, clinical samples, nucleic acid, Phylogenetic analysis, Region, Culture, Viral load, clinical, Cell culture, Next-generation sequencing, therapeutic, Research, Patient, Deletion, clade, genetic diversity, phylogenetic analyses, South Korea, genomic, SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, Nucleic acid purification, Analysis, Point mutation, Missense, statistical analysis, SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences, significant difference, high viral load, in-depth analysis, circulating, SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence, SARS-CoV-2 isolates, deletions, whole genome, pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2, dominant, regions, feature, analyzed, collected, conducted, was performed, indicate, determine, mutated, genomic alteration, 【제목키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Mutation, outbreak, second wave, Analysis,