Papers

Peer-reviewed Corresponding author
Aug 31, 2022

AI-based search for convergently expanding, advantageous mutations in SARS-CoV-2 by focusing on oligonucleotide frequencies

PLOS ONE
  • Toshimichi Ikemura
  • ,
  • Yuki Iwasaki
  • ,
  • Kennosuke Wada
  • ,
  • Yoshiko Wada
  • ,
  • Takashi Abe

Volume
17
Number
8
First page
e0273860
Last page
e0273860
Language
Publishing type
Research paper (scientific journal)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0273860
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Among mutations that occur in SARS-CoV-2, efficient identification of mutations advantageous for viral replication and transmission is important to characterize and defeat this rampant virus. Mutations rapidly expanding frequency in a viral population are candidates for advantageous mutations, but neutral mutations hitchhiking with advantageous mutations are also likely to be included. To distinguish these, we focus on mutations that appear to occur independently in different lineages and expand in frequency in a convergent evolutionary manner. Batch-learning SOM (BLSOM) can separate SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences according by lineage from only providing the oligonucleotide composition. Focusing on remarkably expanding 20-mers, each of which is only represented by one copy in the viral genome, allows us to correlate the expanding 20-mers to mutations. Using visualization functions in BLSOM, we can efficiently identify mutations that have expanded remarkably both in the Omicron lineage, which is phylogenetically distinct from other lineages, and in other lineages. Most of these mutations involved changes in amino acids, but there were a few that did not, such as an intergenic mutation.

Link information
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273860
URL
https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273860
ID information
  • DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0273860
  • eISSN : 1932-6203

Export
BibTeX RIS