Exploiting genomic surveillance to map the spatio-temporal dispersal of SARS-CoV-2 spike mutations in Belgium across 2020

Abstract At the end of 2020, several new variants of SARS-CoV-2—designated variants of concern—were detected and quickly suspected to be associated with a higher transmissibility and possible escape of vaccine-induced immunity. In Belgium, this discovery has motivated the initiation of a more ambitious genomic surveillance program, which is drastically increasing the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes to analyse for monitoring the circulation of viral lineages and variants of concern. In order to efficiently analyse the massive collection of genomic data that are the result of such increased sequenc... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Nena Bollen
Maria Artesi
Keith Durkin
Samuel L. Hong
Barney Potter
Bouchra Boujemla
Bert Vanmechelen
Joan Martí-Carreras
Tony Wawina-Bokalanga
Cécile Meex
Sébastien Bontems
Marie-Pierre Hayette
Emmanuel André
Piet Maes
Vincent Bours
Guy Baele
Simon Dellicour
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
Reihe/Periodikum: Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Nature Portfolio
Schlagwörter: Medicine / R / Science / Q
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27392196
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97667-9

Abstract At the end of 2020, several new variants of SARS-CoV-2—designated variants of concern—were detected and quickly suspected to be associated with a higher transmissibility and possible escape of vaccine-induced immunity. In Belgium, this discovery has motivated the initiation of a more ambitious genomic surveillance program, which is drastically increasing the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes to analyse for monitoring the circulation of viral lineages and variants of concern. In order to efficiently analyse the massive collection of genomic data that are the result of such increased sequencing efforts, streamlined analytical strategies are crucial. In this study, we illustrate how to efficiently map the spatio-temporal dispersal of target mutations at a regional level. As a proof of concept, we focus on the Belgian province of Liège that has been consistently sampled throughout 2020, but was also one of the main epicenters of the second European epidemic wave. Specifically, we employ a recently developed phylogeographic workflow to infer the regional dispersal history of viral lineages associated with three specific mutations on the spike protein (S98F, A222V and S477N) and to quantify their relative importance through time. Our analytical pipeline enables analysing large data sets and has the potential to be quickly applied and updated to track target mutations in space and time throughout the course of an epidemic.