Mutational dynamics and transmission properties of SARS-CoV-2 superspreading events in Austria

Popa, A.; Genger, J.-W.; Nicholson, M.; Penz, T.; Schmid, D.; Aberle, S. W.; Agerer, B.; Lercher, A.; Endler, L.; Colaco, H.; Smyth, M.; Schuster, M.; Grau, M.; Martinez Jimenez, F.; Pich, O.; Borena, W. T.; Pawelka, E.; Keszei, Z.; Senekowitsch, M.; Laine, J.; Aberle, J.; Redlberger-Fritz, M.; Karolyi, M.; Zoufaly, A.; Maritschnik, S.; Borkovec, M.; Hufnagl, P.; Nairz, M.; Weiss, G.; Wolfinger, M. T.; von Laer, D.; Superti-Furga, G.; Lopez-Bigas, N.; Puchhammer-Stoeckl, E.; Allerberger, F.; Michor, F.; Bock, C.; Bergthaler, A.

doi:10.1101/2020.07.15.204339

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.07.15.204339

Mutational dynamics and transmission properties of SARS-CoV-2 superspreading events in Austria

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Abstract

Superspreading events shape the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we provide a national-scale analysis of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in Austria, a country that played a major role for virus transmission across Europe and beyond. Capitalizing on a national epidemiological surveillance system, we performed deep whole-genome sequencing of virus isolates from 576 samples to cover major Austrian SARS-CoV-2 clusters. Our data chart a map of early viral spreading in Europe, including the path from low-frequency mutations to fixation. Detailed epidemiological surveys enabled us to calculate the effective SARS-CoV-2 population bottlenecks during transmission and unveil time-resolved intra-patient viral quasispecies dynamics. This study demonstrates the power of integrating deep viral genome sequencing and epidemiological data to better understand how SARS-CoV-2 spreads through populations. Graphical Abstract O_FIG_DISPLAY_L [Figure 1] M_FIG_DISPLAY C_FIG_DISPLAY

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Popa, A., Genger, J.-W., Nicholson, M., Penz, T., Schmid, D., Aberle, S. W., Agerer, B., Lercher, A., Endler, L., Colaco, H., Smyth, M., Schuster, M., Grau, M., Martinez Jimenez, F., Pich, O., Borena, W. T., Pawelka, E., Keszei, Z., Senekowitsch, M., Laine, J., Aberle, J., Redlberger-Fritz, M., Karolyi, M., Zoufaly, A., Maritschnik, S., Borkovec, M., Hufnagl, P., Nairz, M., Weiss, G., Wolfinger, M. T., von Laer, D., Superti-Furga, G., Lopez-Bigas, N., Puchhammer-Stoeckl, E., Allerberger, F., Michor, F., Bock, C., Bergthaler, A.. 2020-07-17. Mutational dynamics and transmission properties of SARS-CoV-2 superspreading events in Austria. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.15.204339

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