Prediction of two novel overlapping ORFs in the genome of SARS-CoV-2

Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved..

Six candidate overlapping genes have been detected in SARS-CoV-2, yet current methods struggle to detect overlapping genes that recently originated. However, such genes might encode proteins beneficial to the virus, and provide a model system to understand gene birth. To complement existing detection methods, I first demonstrated that selection pressure to avoid stop codons in alternative reading frames is a driving force in the origin and retention of overlapping genes. I then built a detection method, CodScr, based on this selection pressure. Finally, I combined CodScr with methods that detect other properties of overlapping genes, such as a biased nucleotide and amino acid composition. I detected two novel ORFs (ORF-Sh and ORF-Mh), overlapping the spike and membrane genes respectively, which are under selection pressure and may be beneficial to SARS-CoV-2. ORF-Sh and ORF-Mh are present, as ORF uninterrupted by stop codons, in 100% and 95% of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes, respectively.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2021

Erschienen:

2021

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:562

Enthalten in:

Virology - 562(2021) vom: 01. Okt., Seite 149-157

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Pavesi, Angelo [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Codon usage
Journal Article
Membrane protein
Multivariate statistics
Overlapping reading frame
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Selection pressure
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
Spike protein
Virus evolution

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 13.09.2021

Date Revised 17.12.2022

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.virol.2021.07.011

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM328844411