Whole-genome analysis of SARS-CoV-2 samples indicate no tissue specific genetic adaptation of the virus in COVID-19 patients' upper and lower respiratory tract

Sample panels of SARS-CoV-2 cases were retrospectively whole-genome sequenced. In three individuals, samples of upper and lower respiratory tract resulted in identical sequences suggesting virus stability including the spike protein cleavage site. In a fourth case, low-level intra-host genomic evolution and a unique 5-nucleotide deletion was observed. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Automated summary

This study retrospectively conducted whole-genome sequencing on samples from SARS-CoV-2 cases, revealing identical sequences in some individuals between upper and lower respiratory tract samples, while others showed low-level intra-host genomic evolution and unique nucleotide deletions.