Detection of A-to-I RNA Editing in SARS-COV-2

ADAR1-mediated deamination of adenosines in long double-stranded RNAs plays an important role in modulating the innate immune response. However, recent investigations based on metatranscriptomic samples of COVID-19 patients and SARS-COV-2-infected Vero cells have recovered contrasting findings. Using RNAseq data from time course experiments of infected human cell lines and transcriptome data from Vero cells and clinical samples, we prove that A-to-G changes observed in SARS-COV-2 genomes represent genuine RNA editing events, likely mediated by ADAR1. While the A-to-I editing rate is generally low, changes are distributed along the entire viral genome, are overrepresented in exonic regions, and are (in the majority of cases) nonsynonymous. The impact of RNA editing on virus-host interactions could be relevant to identify potential targets for therapeutic interventions.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that the A-to-G changes observed in the SARS-COV-2 genomes are genuine RNA editing events mediated by ADAR1, and these edits may have significant impact on the virus-host interactions.