Genetics, Vaccines, and Infections Research Group (GENVIP), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain.
Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (INCIFOR), Facultade de Medicina, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, and GenPoB Research Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago (SERGAS), Galicia, Spain; Translational Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Trends Genet. 2021 Dec;37(12):1069-1080. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2021.09.003. Epub 2021 Sep 8.
Superspreading and variants of concern (VOC) of the human pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are the main catalyzers of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, measuring their individual impact is challenging. By examining the largest database of SARS-CoV-2 genomes The Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data [GISAID; n >1.2 million high-quality (HQ) sequences], we present evidence suggesting that superspreading has had a key role in the epidemiological predominance of VOC. There are clear signatures in the database compatible with large superspreading events (SSEs) coinciding chronologically with the worst epidemiological scenarios triggered by VOC. The data suggest that, without the randomness effect of the genetic drift facilitated by superspreading, new VOC of SARS-CoV-2 would have had more limited chance of success.
人呼吸道病原体严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）的超级传播者和关注变异体（VOC）是 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行的主要催化剂。然而，衡量它们的个体影响具有挑战性。通过检查最大的 SARS-CoV-2 基因组全球共享流感数据倡议[GISAID；n >120 万高质量（HQ）序列]数据库，我们提供的证据表明，超级传播者在 VOC 的流行病学优势中发挥了关键作用。数据库中有与超级传播事件（SSE）相一致的明确特征，这些事件在时间上与 VOC 引发的最坏的流行病学情况相吻合。数据表明，如果没有超级传播者所带来的遗传漂移随机性效应，SARS-CoV-2 的新 VOC 成功的机会将受到更多限制。
