Genome sequencing of the first SARS-CoV-2 reported from patients with COVID-19 in Ecuador
medRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)(2020)
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19 was first described in Wuhan in December 2019 and has now spread globally. Ecuador was the second country in South America to report confirmed cases. The first case reported in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, was a tourist who came from the Netherlands and presented symptoms on March 10th, 2020 (index case). In this work we used the MinION platform (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) to sequence the metagenome of the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from this case reported, and subsequently we sequenced the whole genome of the index case and other three patients using the ARTIC network protocols. Our data from the metagenomic approach confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 coexisting with pathogenic bacteria suggesting coinfection. Relevant bacteria found in the BAL metagenome were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus and Chlamydia spp. Lineage assignment of the four whole genomes revealed three different origins. The variant HEE-01 was imported from the Netherlands and was assigned to B lineage, HGSQ-USFQ-018, belongs to the B.1 lineage showing nine nucleotide differences with the reference strain and grouped with sequences from the United Kingdom, and HGSQ-USFQ-007 and HGSQ-USFQ-010 belong to the B lineage and grouped with sequences from Scotland. All genomes show mutations in their genomes compared to the reference strain, which could be important to understand the virulence, severity and transmissibility of the virus. Our findings also suggest that there were at least three independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 to Ecuador.
IMPORTANCE COVID-19, an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, has spread globally including Latin American countries including Ecuador. The first strain of SARS-CoV-2 sequenced was from Wuhan, which is considered as the reference strain. There were no data about the SARS-CoV-2 lineages in Ecuador, and the purpose of this study was to find out the origin of the different lineages circulating in the population. We also were interested in the mutations present in these genomes as they can influence virulence, transmission and infectivity.
### Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
### Funding Statement
This work was funded by Universidad San Francisco de Quito and CADDE project ([www.caddecentre.org/][1]). P.C. is funded by NIH FIC D43TW010540 Global Health Equity Scholars.
### Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
Yes
The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:
Ethical approval for all samples was given by CEISH-USFQ: IE-JP067-2020-CEISH-USFQ
All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived.
Yes
I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).
Yes
I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable.
Yes
Sequences obtained are publicly available on GISAID under the submissions: HEE01, HGSQ-USFQ-018, HGSQ-USFQ-007 and HGSQ-USFQ-010
[1]: http://www.caddecentre.org/
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