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SARS-CoV-2 sequences can be reverse-transcribed and integrated into the genomes of virus-infected cells by a LINE1-mediated retrotransposition mechanism. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) methods detected retrotransposed SARS-CoV-2 subgenomic sequences in virus-infected cells overexpressing LINE1, while an enrichment method (TagMap) identified retrotranspositions in cells that did not overexpress LINE1. LINE1 overexpression increased retrotranspositions about 1,000-fold as compared to non-overexpressing cells. Nanopore WGS can directly recover retrotransposed viral and flanking host sequences but its sensitivity depends on the depth of sequencing (a typical 20-fold sequencing depth would only examine 10 diploid cell equivalents).
In contrast, TagMap enriches for the host-virus junctions and can interrogate up to 20,000 cells and is able to detect rare viral retrotranspositions in LINE1 non-overexpressing cells. Although Nanopore WGS is 10 - 20-fold more sensitive per tested cell, TagMap can interrogate 1,000 - 2,000-fold more cells and therefore can identify infrequent retrotranspositions. When comparing SARS-CoV-2 infection and viral nucleocapsid mRNA transfection by TagMap, retrotransposed SARS-CoV-2 sequences were only detected in infected but not in transfected cells. Retrotransposition in virus-infected in contrast to transfected cells may be facilitated because virus infection in contrast to viral RNA transfection results in significantly higher viral RNA levels and stimulates LINE1-expression which causes cellular stress.
Preprint available in bioRxiv (Feb. 13, 2023):
