The signature of SARS-CoV-2 evolution reflects selective pressures
within human guts
Abstract
In somatic cells, microRNAs (miRNAs) bind to the genomes of RNA viruses
and influence their translation and replication. Here we demonstrate
that a significant number of miRNA binding sites locate in the NSP4
region of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, and the intestinal human miRNAs exert
evolutionary pressure on this region. Notably, in infected cells, NSP4
promotes the formation of double-membrane vesicles, which serve as the
scaffolds for replication-transcriptional complexes and protect viral
RNA from intracellular destruction. In three years of selection, the
loss of many miRNA binding sites, in particular, those within the NSP4,
has shaped the SARS-CoV-2 genomes to promote the descendants of the BA.2
variants as the dominant strains that define current momentum of the
pandemics. Findings highlight the possibility that intestinal tissue may
significantly impact evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 genome and may play a
pivotal role in the long COVID.