Genome sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome COVID-19 EF.1 variant strain obtained from a Moroccan patient

Lahcen Ouchari; Mouhssine Hemlali; Hamza Ghammaz; Taha Chouati; Marouane Melloul; Sanaâ Alaoui Amine; Safaa Rhoulam; Hicham Elannaz; Nadia Touil; Khalid Ennibi; Elmostafa El Fahime

doi:10.1128/mra.01255-23

Genome sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome COVID-19 EF.1 variant strain obtained from a Moroccan patient

Microbiol Resour Announc. 2024 Apr 11;13(4):e0125523. doi: 10.1128/mra.01255-23. Epub 2024 Mar 19.

Authors

Lahcen Ouchari^{1

2}, Mouhssine Hemlali^{1

3}, Hamza Ghammaz^{1

3}, Taha Chouati^{1

3}, Marouane Melloul^{1

2}, Sanaâ Alaoui Amine¹, Safaa Rhoulam¹, Hicham Elannaz⁴, Nadia Touil^{4

5}, Khalid Ennibi⁴, Elmostafa El Fahime^{1

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics Platform, National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST), Rabat, Morocco.
² Microbiology and Molecular Biology Team, Plant and Microbial Biotechnology, Biodiversity and Environment Center, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat, Morocco.
³ Neuroscience and Neurogenetics Research Team, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco.
⁴ Cell Culture Unit, Center of Virology, Infectious, and Tropical Diseases, Med V Military Hospital, Rabat, Morocco.
⁵ Genomic Center for Human Pathologies (GENOPATH), Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco.

Abstract

Here, we report the identification and coding-complete genome sequence of a severe acute respiratory syndrome COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) strain obtained from a Moroccan patient. The detected strain EF.1 belongs to the BQ1.1 subvariant of the BA.5 Omicron variant.

Keywords: COVID-19; genome sequencing; immune evasion; subvariant.