Anomalies in BatCoV/RaTG13 sequencing and provenance
Description
To this date, the most critical piece of evidence on the purposed “natural origin” theory of SARS-CoV-2, was the sequence known as RaTG13, allegedly collected from a single fecal sample from Rhinolophus Affinis. Understanding the provenance of RaTG13 is critical on the ongoing debate of the Origins of SARS-CoV-2. However, this sample is allegedly “used up” and therefore can no longer be accessed nor sequenced independently [1], and the only available data was the 3 related Genbank accessions: MN996532.1, SRX7724752 and SRX8357956.
We report these datasets possessed multiple significant anomalies, and the provenence of the promised claims of RaTG13 or it’s role in proving a “probable bat origin”[2] of SARS-CoV-2 can not be satisfied nor possibly be confirmed.
Files
Is RaTG13 specifically adapted to a restriction scar sequence.pdf
Additional details
References
- Zhou P, Yang XL, Wang XG, et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature. 2020;579(7798):270-273. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7
- Rose C, Parker A, Jefferson B, Cartmell E. The Characterization of Feces and Urine: A Review of the Literature to Inform Advanced Treatment Technology. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol. 2015;45(17):1827-1879. doi:10.1080/10643389.2014.1000761
- Xiao C, Li X, Liu S, Sang Y, Gao SJ, Gao F. HIV-1 did not contribute to the 2019-nCoV genome. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2020;9(1):378-381. Published 2020 Feb 14. doi:10.1080/22221751.2020.1727299
- Paskey, A.C., Frey, K.G., Schroth, G. et al. Enrichment post-library preparation enhances the sensitivity of high-throughput sequencing-based detection and characterization of viruses from complex samples. BMC Genomics 20, 155 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-5543-2