Tracking the prevalence and emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern using a regional genomic surveillance program.

Unlabelled: SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing coupled with whole-genome sequencing is instrumental for real-time genomic surveillance. Genomic surveillance is critical for monitoring the spread of variants of concern (VOCs) as well as discovery of novel variants. Since the beginning of the pandemic, millions of SARS-CoV-2 genomes have been deposited into public sequence databases.

The Highly Conserved Stem-Loop II Motif Is Dispensable for SARS-CoV-2.

The stem-loop II motif (s2m) is an RNA structural element that is found in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of many RNA viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Though the motif was discovered over 25 years ago, its functional significance is unknown. In order to understand the importance of s2m, we created viruses with deletions or mutations of the s2m by reverse genetics and also evaluated a clinical isolate harboring a unique s2m deletion.

Tracking the prevalence and emergence of SARS CoV2 variants of concern using a regional genomic surveillance program.

SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing coupled with whole genome sequencing is instrumental for real-time genomic surveillance. Genomic surveillance is critical for monitoring the spread of variants of concern (VOC) as well as novel variant discovery. Since the beginning of the pandemic millions of SARS-CoV-2 genomes have been deposited into public sequence databases.

The highly conserved stem-loop II motif is dispensable for SARS-CoV-2.

Unlabelled: The stem-loop II motif (s2m) is a RNA structural element that is found in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of many RNA viruses including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Though the motif was discovered over twenty-five years ago, its functional significance is unknown. In order to understand the importance of s2m, we created viruses with deletions or mutations of the s2m by reverse genetics and also evaluated a clinical isolate harboring a unique s2m deletion.

Resilience of S309 and AZD7442 monoclonal antibody treatments against infection by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineage strains.

Omicron variant strains encode large numbers of changes in the spike protein compared to historical SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Although in vitro studies have suggested that several monoclonal antibody therapies lose neutralizing activity against Omicron variants, the effects in vivo remain largely unknown. Here, we report on the protective efficacy against three SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineage strains (BA.

The highly conserved stem-loop II motif is important for the lifecycle of astroviruses but dispensable for SARS-CoV-2.

The stem-loop II motif (s2m) is an RNA element present in viruses from divergent viral families, including astroviruses and coronaviruses, but its functional significance is unknown. We created deletions or substitutions of the s2m in astrovirus VA1 (VA1), classic human astrovirus 1 (HAstV1) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). For VA1, recombinant virus could not be rescued upon partial deletion of the s2m or substitutions of G-C base pairs.

Neutralizing antibodies protect mice against Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus aerosol challenge.

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) remains a risk for epidemic emergence or use as an aerosolized bioweapon. To develop possible countermeasures, we isolated VEEV-specific neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from mice and a human immunized with attenuated VEEV strains. Functional assays and epitope mapping established that potently inhibitory anti-VEEV mAbs bind distinct antigenic sites in the A or B domains of the E2 glycoprotein and block multiple steps in the viral replication cycle including attachment, fusion, and egress.