Evolution of the viral genomes of SARS-CoV-2 in association with the changes in local condition: a genomic epidemiological study of a suburban city of Japan.

Understanding the factors driving the spread and evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at the local, regional, national, and international levels is important in protecting against future pandemics. By exploring their viral genomes, we attempted to analyse the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its evolutionary convergence in Kashiwa City, as an example of a representative commuter town in Japan. From September 2020 to January 2023, a total of 47,134 nasopharyngeal swab and saliva specimens were collected from patients in 47 local clinics and hospitals, covering the vast majority of healthcare facilities.

Complete sequencing and characterization of 21,243 full-length human cDNAs.

As a base for human transcriptome and functional genomics, we created the "full-length long Japan" (FLJ) collection of sequenced human cDNAs. We determined the entire sequence of 21,243 selected clones and found that 14,490 cDNAs (10,897 clusters) were unique to the FLJ collection. About half of them (5,416) seemed to be protein-coding.