Sequential Appearance and Isolation of a SARS-CoV-2 Recombinant between Two Major SARS-CoV-2 Variants in a Chronically Infected Immunocompromised Patient

Abstract

Genetic recombination is a major evolutionary mechanism among RNA viruses, and it is common in coronaviruses, including those infecting humans. A few SARS-CoV-2 recombinants have been reported to date whose genome harbored combinations of mutations from different mutants or variants, but only a single patient’s sample was analyzed, and the virus was not isolated. Here, we report the gradual emergence of a hybrid genome of B.1.160 and Alpha variants in a lymphoma patient chronically infected for 14 months, and we isolated the recombinant virus. The hybrid genome was obtained by next-generation sequencing, and the recombination sites were confirmed by PCR. This consisted of a parental B.1.160 backbone interspersed with two fragments, including the spike gene, from an Alpha variant. An analysis of seven sequential samples from the patient decoded the recombination steps, including the initial infection with a B.1.160 variant, then a concurrent infection with this variant and an Alpha variant, the generation of hybrid genomes, and eventually the emergence of a predominant recombinant virus isolated at the end of the patient’s follow-up. This case exemplifies the recombination process of SARS-CoV-2 in real life, and it calls for intensifying the genomic surveillance in patients coinfected with different SARS-CoV-2 variants, and more generally with several RNA viruses, as this may lead to the appearance of new viruses.

Keywords

• SARS-CoV-2
• variant
• recombination
• chronic infection
• immunosuppression