SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance identifies naturally occurring truncation of ORF7a that limits immune suppression

By surveying totally 950,000 whole genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2, naturally occurrence of OFR7a deletion at its C-terminal end has been identified. The C-terminal 115 nt truncated SARS-CoV-2 showed slightly reduced replication property in the infected culture cells. Moreover, the truncation induces stronger antiviral immune responses compared to the wild type virus infection.