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Wyler E, Lauber C, Manukyan A, Deter A, Quedenau C, Teixeira Alves LG, Wylezich C, Borodina T, Seitz S, Altmüller J, Landthaler M. Pathogen dynamics and discovery of novel viruses and enzymes by deep nucleic acid sequencing of wastewater. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2024; 190:108875. [PMID: 39002331 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/15/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater contains an extensive reservoir of genetic information, yet largely unexplored. Here, we analyzed by high-throughput sequencing total nucleic acids extracted from wastewater samples collected during a 17 month-period in Berlin, Germany. By integrating global wastewater datasets and applying a novel computational approach to accurately identify viral strains within sewage RNA-sequencing data, we demonstrated the emergence and global dissemination of a specific astrovirus strain. Astrovirus abundance and sequence variation mirrored temporal and spatial patterns of infection, potentially serving as footprints of specific timeframes and geographical locations. Additionally, we revealed more than 100,000 sequence contigs likely originating from novel viral species, exhibiting distinct profiles in total RNA and DNA datasets and including undescribed bunyaviruses and parvoviruses. Finally, we identified thousands of new CRISPR-associated protein sequences, including Transposase B (TnpB), a class of compact, RNA-guided DNA editing enzymes. Collectively, our findings underscore the potential of high-throughput sequencing of total nucleic acids derived from wastewater for a broad range of applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Wyler
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Chris Lauber
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, A Joint Venture between the Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Hannover, Germany; Cluster of Excellence RESIST (EXC 2155), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Artür Manukyan
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Aylina Deter
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Claudia Quedenau
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Luiz Gustavo Teixeira Alves
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Claudia Wylezich
- Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Tatiana Borodina
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Seitz
- Division of Virus-Associated Carcinogenesis (F170), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Janine Altmüller
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany; Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | - Markus Landthaler
- Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany; Institut für Biologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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2
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Sutcliffe SG, Kraemer SA, Ellmen I, Knapp JJ, Overton AK, Nash D, Nissimov JI, Charles TC, Dreifuss D, Topolsky I, Baykal PI, Fuhrmann L, Jablonski KP, Beerenwinkel N, Levy JI, Olabode AS, Becker DG, Gugan G, Brintnell E, Poon AF, Valieris R, Drummond RD, Defelicibus A, Dias-Neto E, Rosales RA, Tojal da Silva I, Orfanou A, Psomopoulos F, Pechlivanis N, Pipes L, Chen Z, Baaijens JA, Baym M, Shapiro BJ. Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in wastewater: an assessment of nine computational tools using simulated genomic data. Microb Genom 2024; 10:001249. [PMID: 38785221 PMCID: PMC11165662 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.001249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) is an important epidemiological and public health tool for tracking pathogens across the scale of a building, neighbourhood, city, or region. WBS gained widespread adoption globally during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic for estimating community infection levels by qPCR. Sequencing pathogen genes or genomes from wastewater adds information about pathogen genetic diversity, which can be used to identify viral lineages (including variants of concern) that are circulating in a local population. Capturing the genetic diversity by WBS sequencing is not trivial, as wastewater samples often contain a diverse mixture of viral lineages with real mutations and sequencing errors, which must be deconvoluted computationally from short sequencing reads. In this study we assess nine different computational tools that have recently been developed to address this challenge. We simulated 100 wastewater sequence samples consisting of SARS-CoV-2 BA.1, BA.2, and Delta lineages, in various mixtures, as well as a Delta-Omicron recombinant and a synthetic 'novel' lineage. Most tools performed well in identifying the true lineages present and estimating their relative abundances and were generally robust to variation in sequencing depth and read length. While many tools identified lineages present down to 1 % frequency, results were more reliable above a 5 % threshold. The presence of an unknown synthetic lineage, which represents an unclassified SARS-CoV-2 lineage, increases the error in relative abundance estimates of other lineages, but the magnitude of this effect was small for most tools. The tools also varied in how they labelled novel synthetic lineages and recombinants. While our simulated dataset represents just one of many possible use cases for these methods, we hope it helps users understand potential sources of error or bias in wastewater sequencing analysis and to appreciate the commonalities and differences across methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven G. Sutcliffe
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Susanne A. Kraemer
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Isaac Ellmen
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - Delaney Nash
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - David Dreifuss
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, BS, Switzerland; SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, VD, Switzerland
| | - Ivan Topolsky
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, BS, Switzerland; SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, VD, Switzerland
| | - Pelin I. Baykal
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, BS, Switzerland; SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, VD, Switzerland
| | - Lara Fuhrmann
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, BS, Switzerland; SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, VD, Switzerland
| | - Kim P. Jablonski
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, BS, Switzerland; SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, VD, Switzerland
| | - Niko Beerenwinkel
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, BS, Switzerland; SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, VD, Switzerland
| | - Joshua I. Levy
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Abayomi S. Olabode
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Devan G. Becker
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Gopi Gugan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Erin Brintnell
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Art F.Y. Poon
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Renan Valieris
- Computational Biology, A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Aspasia Orfanou
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, 57001, Thessaloníki, Greece
| | - Fotis Psomopoulos
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, 57001, Thessaloníki, Greece
| | - Nikolaos Pechlivanis
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thermi, 57001, Thessaloníki, Greece
| | - Lenore Pipes
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Zihao Chen
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, BJ, PR China
| | - Jasmijn A. Baaijens
- Delft University of Technology, Delft, ZH, Netherlands
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael Baym
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - B. Jesse Shapiro
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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3
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Patiño LH, Ballesteros N, Muñoz M, Ramírez AL, Castañeda S, Galeano LA, Hidalgo A, Paniz-Mondolfi A, Ramírez JD. Global and genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Heliyon 2024; 10:e27452. [PMID: 38463823 PMCID: PMC10923837 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater has enabled us to better understand the spread and evolution of the virus worldwide. To deepen our understanding of its epidemiological and genomic characteristics, we analyzed 10,147 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from 5 continents and 21 countries that were deposited in the GISAID database up until January 31, 2023. Our results revealed over 100 independent lineages of the virus circulating in water samples from March 2020 to January 2023, including variants of interest and concern. We observed four clearly defined periods of global distribution of these variants over time, with one variant being replaced by another. Interestingly, we found that SARS-CoV-2 water-borne sequences from different countries had a close phylogenetic relationship. Additionally, 40 SARS-CoV-2 water-borne sequences from Europe and the USA did not show any phylogenetic relationship with SARS-CoV-2 human sequences. We also identified a significant number of non-synonymous mutations, some of which were detected in previously reported cryptic lineages. Among the countries analyzed, France and the USA showed the highest degree of sequence diversity, while Austria reported the highest number of genomes (6,296). Our study provides valuable information about the epidemiological and genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, which can be employed to support public health initiatives and preparedness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luz Helena Patiño
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia
| | - Nathalia Ballesteros
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia
| | - Marina Muñoz
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia
| | - Angie Lorena Ramírez
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia
| | - Sergio Castañeda
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia
| | - Luis Alejandro Galeano
- Grupo de Investigación en Materiales Funcionales y Catálisis (GIMFC), Departamento de Química, Universidad de Nariño, Pasto, 52002, Colombia
| | - Arsenio Hidalgo
- Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Departamento de Matemáticas, Universidad de Nariño, Pasto, 50002, Colombia
| | - Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia
| | - Juan David Ramírez
- Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia
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4
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Adamopoulos PG, Diamantopoulos MA, Boti MA, Zafeiriadou A, Galani A, Kostakis M, Markou A, Sideris DC, Avgeris M, Thomaidis NS, Scorilas A. Spike-Seq: An amplicon-based high-throughput sequencing approach for the sensitive detection and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 genetic variations in environmental samples. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 914:169747. [PMID: 38159750 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19 disease in Wuhan, China, different variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been identified. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), an approach that has been successfully applied in numerous case studies worldwide, offers a cost-effective and rapid way for monitoring trends of SARS-Cov-2 in the community level without selection bias. Despite being a gold-standard procedure, WBE is a challenging approach due to the sample instability and the moderate efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater. In the present study, we introduce Spike-Seq, a custom amplicon-based approach for the S gene sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples, which enables not only the accurate identification of the existing Spike-related genetic markers, but also the estimation of their frequency in the investigated samples. The implementation of Spike-Seq involves the combination of nested PCR-based assays that efficiently amplify the entire nucleotide sequence of the S gene and next-generation sequencing, which enables the variant detection and the estimation of their frequency. In the framework of the current work, Spike-Seq was performed to investigate the mutational profile of SARS-CoV-2 in samples from the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) of Athens, Greece, which originated from multiple timepoints, ranging from March 2021 until July 2022. Our findings demonstrate that Spike-Seq efficiently detected major genetic markers of B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.617.2 (Delta) as well as B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variants in wastewater samples and provided their frequency levels, showing similar variant distributions with the published clinical data from the National Public Health organization. The presented approach can prove to be a useful tool for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in challenging wastewater samples and the identification of the existing genetic variants of S gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panagiotis G Adamopoulos
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Marios A Diamantopoulos
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Michaela A Boti
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Anastasia Zafeiriadou
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Aikaterini Galani
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Marios Kostakis
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Athina Markou
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Diamantis C Sideris
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Margaritis Avgeris
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Second Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Nikolaos S Thomaidis
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Andreas Scorilas
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
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5
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Aßmann E, Agrawal S, Orschler L, Böttcher S, Lackner S, Hölzer M. Impact of reference design on estimating SARS-CoV-2 lineage abundances from wastewater sequencing data. Gigascience 2024; 13:giae051. [PMID: 39115959 PMCID: PMC11308188 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giae051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA from wastewater samples has emerged as a valuable tool for detecting the presence and relative abundances of SARS-CoV-2 variants in a community. By analyzing the viral genetic material present in wastewater, researchers and public health authorities can gain early insights into the spread of virus lineages and emerging mutations. Constructing reference datasets from known SARS-CoV-2 lineages and their mutation profiles has become state-of-the-art for assigning viral lineages and their relative abundances from wastewater sequencing data. However, selecting reference sequences or mutations directly affects the predictive power. RESULTS Here, we show the impact of a mutation- and sequence-based reference reconstruction for SARS-CoV-2 abundance estimation. We benchmark 3 datasets: (i) synthetic "spike-in"' mixtures; (ii) German wastewater samples from early 2021, mainly comprising Alpha; and (iii) samples obtained from wastewater at an international airport in Germany from the end of 2021, including first signals of Omicron. The 2 approaches differ in sublineage detection, with the marker mutation-based method, in particular, being challenged by the increasing number of mutations and lineages. However, the estimations of both approaches depend on selecting representative references and optimized parameter settings. By performing parameter escalation experiments, we demonstrate the effects of reference size and alternative allele frequency cutoffs for abundance estimation. We show how different parameter settings can lead to different results for our test datasets and illustrate the effects of virus lineage composition of wastewater samples and references. CONCLUSIONS Our study highlights current computational challenges, focusing on the general reference design, which directly impacts abundance allocations. We illustrate advantages and disadvantages that may be relevant for further developments in the wastewater community and in the context of defining robust quality metrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Aßmann
- Genome Competence Center (MF1), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin 13353, Germany
- Center for Artificial Intelligence in Public Health Research (ZKI-PH), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin 13353, Germany
| | - Shelesh Agrawal
- Chair of Water and Environmental Biotechnology, Institute IWAR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sciences, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
| | - Laura Orschler
- Chair of Water and Environmental Biotechnology, Institute IWAR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sciences, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
| | - Sindy Böttcher
- Gastroenteritis and Hepatitis Pathogens and Enteroviruses, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin 13353, Germany
| | - Susanne Lackner
- Chair of Water and Environmental Biotechnology, Institute IWAR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sciences, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
| | - Martin Hölzer
- Genome Competence Center (MF1), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin 13353, Germany
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6
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Zhakparov D, Quirin Y, Xiao Y, Battaglia N, Holzer M, Bühler M, Kistler W, Engel D, Zumthor JP, Caduff A, Baerenfaller K. Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA Fragments in Wastewater Detects the Spread of New Variants during Major Events. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2660. [PMID: 38004672 PMCID: PMC10672834 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater is an unbiased method to detect the spread of emerging variants and to track regional infection dynamics, which is especially useful in case of limited testing and clinical sequencing. To test how major international events influence the spread of new variants we have sequenced SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater samples of Davos, Landquart, Lostallo, and St. Moritz in the Swiss canton of Grisons in the time around the international sports competitions in Davos and St. Moritz in December 2021, and additionally in May 2022 and January 2023 in Davos and St. Moritz during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The prevalence of the variants identified from the wastewater sequencing data showed that the Omicron variant BA.1 had spread in Davos and St. Moritz during the international sporting events hosted there in December 2021. This spread was associated with an increase in case numbers, while it was not observed in Landquart and Lostallo. Another instance of new variant spread occurred during the WEF in January 2023, when the Omicron variant BA.2.75 arrived in Davos but not in St. Moritz. We can therefore conclude that major international events promote the spread of new variants in the respective host region, which has important implications for the protective measures that should be taken.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damir Zhakparov
- Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, 7265 Davos, Switzerland; (D.Z.)
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Yves Quirin
- Cantonal Office for Nature and Environment, 7000 Chur, Switzerland
| | - Yi Xiao
- Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, 7265 Davos, Switzerland; (D.Z.)
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Battaglia
- Cantonal Office for Food Security and Animal Health, 7000 Chur, Switzerland
| | - Michael Holzer
- Cantonal Office for Nature and Environment, 7000 Chur, Switzerland
| | - Martin Bühler
- Cantonal Office for Military and Civil Protection, 7000 Chur, Switzerland (A.C.)
| | | | | | - Jon Paulin Zumthor
- Cantonal Office for Food Security and Animal Health, 7000 Chur, Switzerland
| | - Alexa Caduff
- Cantonal Office for Military and Civil Protection, 7000 Chur, Switzerland (A.C.)
| | - Katja Baerenfaller
- Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, 7265 Davos, Switzerland; (D.Z.)
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
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7
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Haver A, Theijn R, Grift ID, Raaijmakers G, Poorter E, Laros JFJ, van Dissel JT, Lodder WJ. Regional reemergence of a SARS-CoV-2 Delta lineage amid an Omicron wave detected by wastewater sequencing. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17870. [PMID: 37857658 PMCID: PMC10587120 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44500-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The implementation and integration of wastewater-based epidemiology constitutes a valuable addition to existing pathogen surveillance systems, such as clinical surveillance for SARS-CoV-2. In the Netherlands, SARS-CoV-2 variant circulation is monitored by performing whole-genome sequencing on wastewater samples. In this manuscript, we describe the detection of an AY.43 lineage (Delta variant) amid a period of BA.5 (Omicron variant) dominance in wastewater samples from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) during the months of August and September of 2022. Our results describe a temporary emergence, which was absent in samples from other WWTPs, and which coincided with peaks in viral load. We show how these lineage estimates can be traced back to lineage-specific substitution patterns. The absence of this variant from reported clinical data, but high associated viral loads suggest cryptic transmission. Our findings highlight the additional value of wastewater surveillance for generating insights into circulating pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Auke Haver
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Department of Human Genetics (HG), Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Rick Theijn
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Ivo D Grift
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Gino Raaijmakers
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Elsa Poorter
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen F J Laros
- Department of Human Genetics (HG), Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of BioInformatics and Computational Services (BIR), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Jaap T van Dissel
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Willemijn J Lodder
- Centre for Infectious Disease Control (CIb), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
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8
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Xu X, Deng Y, Ding J, Zheng X, Wang C, Wang D, Liu L, Gu H, Peiris M, Poon LLM, Zhang T. Wastewater genomic sequencing for SARS-CoV-2 variants surveillance in wastewater-based epidemiology applications. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 244:120444. [PMID: 37579567 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been widely used as a complementary approach to SARS-CoV-2 clinical surveillance. Wastewater genomic sequencing could provide valuable information on the genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in the surveyed population. However, reliable detection and quantification of variants or mutations remain challenging. In this study, we used mock wastewater samples created by spiking SARS-CoV-2 variant standard RNA into wastewater RNA to evaluate the impacts of sequencing throughput on various aspects such as genome coverage, mutation detection, and SARS-CoV-2 variant deconvolution. We found that wastewater datasets with sequencing throughput greater than 0.5 Gb yielded reliable results in genomic analysis. In addition, using in silico mock datasets, we evaluated the performance of the adopted pipeline for variant deconvolution. By sequencing 86 wastewater samples covering more than 6 million people over 7 months, we presented two use cases of wastewater genomic sequencing for surveying COVID-19 in Hong Kong in WBE applications, including the replacement of Delta variants by Omicron variants, and the prevalence and development trends of three Omicron sublineages. Importantly, the wastewater genomic sequencing data were able to reveal the variant trends 16 days before the clinical data did. By investigating mutations of the spike (S) gene of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we also showed the potential of wastewater genomic sequencing in identifying novel mutations and unique alleles. Overall, our study demonstrated the crucial role of wastewater genomic surveillance in providing valuable insights into the emergence and monitoring of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and laid a solid foundation for the development of genomic analysis methodologies for WBE of other novel emerging viruses in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqing Xu
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yu Deng
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Jiahui Ding
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Xiawan Zheng
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Chunxiao Wang
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Dou Wang
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Haogao Gu
- Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Sassoon Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Malik Peiris
- Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Sassoon Road, Hong Kong SAR, China; HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, The University of Hong Kong, Sassoon Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Leo L M Poon
- Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Sassoon Road, Hong Kong SAR, China; HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, The University of Hong Kong, Sassoon Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Environmental Engineering Research, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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Haque R, Hossain ME, Miah M, Rahman M, Amin N, Rahman Z, Islam MS, Rahman MZ. Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater of Dhaka City, Bangladesh: approach to complement public health surveillance systems. Hum Genomics 2023; 17:58. [PMID: 37420264 PMCID: PMC10326934 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-023-00505-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance has been considered a powerful tool for early detection and monitoring of the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 and its lineages circulating in a community. This study is aimed to investigate the complexity of SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics in Dhaka city by examining its genetic variants in wastewater. Also, the study seeks to determine a connection between the SARS-CoV-2 variations detected in clinical testing and those found in wastewater samples. RESULTS Out of 504 samples tested in RT-qPCR, 185 (36.7%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA. The median log10 concentration of SARS-CoV-2 N gene copies/Liter of wastewater (gc/L) was 5.2, and the median log10 concentration of ORF1ab was 4.9. To further reveal the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, ten samples with ORF1ab real-time RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values ranging from 28.78 to 32.13 were subjected to whole genome sequencing using nanopore technology. According to clade classification, sequences from wastewater samples were grouped into 4 clades: 20A, 20B, 21A, 21J, and the Pango lineage, B.1, B.1.1, B.1.1.25, and B.1.617.2, with coverage ranging from 94.2 to 99.8%. Of them, 70% belonged to clade 20B, followed by 10% to clade 20A, 21A, and 21J. Lineage B.1.1.25 was predominant in Bangladesh and phylogenetically related to the sequences from India, the USA, Canada, the UK, and Italy. The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was first identified in clinical samples at the beginning of May 2021. In contrast, we found that it was circulating in the community and was detected in wastewater in September 2020. CONCLUSION Environmental surveillance is useful for monitoring temporal and spatial trends of existing and emerging infectious diseases and supports evidence-based public health measures. The findings of this study supported the use of wastewater-based epidemiology and provided the baseline data for the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the wastewater environment in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rehnuma Haque
- Environmental Interventions Unit, Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Akademiska Sjukhuset, 75185, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Mohammad Enayet Hossain
- One Health Laboratory, Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Mojnu Miah
- One Health Laboratory, Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Mahbubur Rahman
- Environmental Interventions Unit, Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Nuhu Amin
- Environmental Interventions Unit, Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
- Institute for Sustainable Futures, The University of Technology Sydney, 235 Jones St, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Ziaur Rahman
- Environmental Interventions Unit, Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Md Shariful Islam
- Environmental Interventions Unit, Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
- The School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Mohammed Ziaur Rahman
- One Health Laboratory, Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b, 68 Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
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Gitter A, Oghuan J, Godbole AR, Chavarria CA, Monserrat C, Hu T, Wang Y, Maresso AW, Hanson BM, Mena KD, Wu F. Not a waste: Wastewater surveillance to enhance public health. FRONTIERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fceng.2022.1112876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Domestic wastewater, when collected and evaluated appropriately, can provide valuable health-related information for a community. As a relatively unbiased and non-invasive approach, wastewater surveillance may complement current practices towards mitigating risks and protecting population health. Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater programs are now widely implemented to monitor viral infection trends in sewersheds and inform public health decision-making. This review summarizes recent developments in wastewater-based epidemiology for detecting and monitoring communicable infectious diseases, dissemination of antimicrobial resistance, and illicit drug consumption. Wastewater surveillance, a quickly advancing Frontier in environmental science, is becoming a new tool to enhance public health, improve disease prevention, and respond to future epidemics and pandemics.
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Make It Less difficile: Understanding Genetic Evolution and Global Spread of Clostridioides difficile. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13122200. [PMID: 36553467 PMCID: PMC9778335 DOI: 10.3390/genes13122200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile is an obligate anaerobic pathogen among the most common causes of healthcare-associated infections. It poses a global threat due to the clinical outcomes of infection and resistance to antibiotics recommended by international guidelines for its eradication. In particular, C. difficile infection can lead to fulminant colitis associated with shock, hypotension, megacolon, and, in severe cases, death. It is therefore of the utmost urgency to fully characterize this pathogen and better understand its spread, in order to reduce infection rates and improve therapy success. This review aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview of the genetic variation of C. difficile, with particular regard to pathogenic genes and the correlation with clinical issues of its infection. We also summarize the current typing techniques and, based on them, the global distribution of the most common ribotypes. Finally, we discuss genomic surveillance actions and new genetic engineering strategies as future perspectives to make it less difficile.
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