Hey folks,
There has been a lot of excellent discussion of our pre-print:
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
We tackle the main critiques & we believe our findings still stand:
alexwasburne.substack.com/p/the-syntheti…
1/
There has been a lot of excellent discussion of our pre-print:
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
We tackle the main critiques & we believe our findings still stand:
alexwasburne.substack.com/p/the-syntheti…
1/
Recall:
We found that the BsaI/BsmBI restriction map of SARS-CoV-2 was an anomaly in nature yet exactly what you would expect from a synthetic virus.
It checked all the boxes: max fragment length, fragment no, sticky ends, silent mutations, etc.
This is still 100% true.
2/
We found that the BsaI/BsmBI restriction map of SARS-CoV-2 was an anomaly in nature yet exactly what you would expect from a synthetic virus.
It checked all the boxes: max fragment length, fragment no, sticky ends, silent mutations, etc.
This is still 100% true.
2/
There are two main critiques that seem to stick:
1) Other methods of assembly exist
2) Recombination could explain this.
In the Substack article, I explain why these critiques fall short of disproving our work.
alexwasburne.substack.com/p/the-syntheti…
3/
1) Other methods of assembly exist
2) Recombination could explain this.
In the Substack article, I explain why these critiques fall short of disproving our work.
alexwasburne.substack.com/p/the-syntheti…
3/
Big picture:
Other methods exist, but we ran a meta-analysis that would've picked up these other methods, and those other methods were not commonly used in this field.
8/10 of the infectious clones we found retained these modified type II sites.
4/
Other methods exist, but we ran a meta-analysis that would've picked up these other methods, and those other methods were not commonly used in this field.
8/10 of the infectious clones we found retained these modified type II sites.
4/
Recombination is common in CoVs, but recombination can explain anything.
I could find green fluorescent mice in Bergen, Norway, and say it must be from recombination with a jellyfish.
That doesn't mean recombination is the most likely scenario. Further research is needed.
5/
I could find green fluorescent mice in Bergen, Norway, and say it must be from recombination with a jellyfish.
That doesn't mean recombination is the most likely scenario. Further research is needed.
5/
The existence of these type II sites in other CoVs is proposed as evidence of recombination...
But that's also consistent with reverse genetic systems used to make chimeric viruses in the lab:
they require the same type II sites in the same place in order to swap parts.
6/
But that's also consistent with reverse genetic systems used to make chimeric viruses in the lab:
they require the same type II sites in the same place in order to swap parts.
6/
The recombination hypothesis is just that: a hypothesis
The researchers proposing recombination need to quantify odds & uncertainty of their hypothesis as we've done with our theory.
All other CoVs were subject to recombination, yet SARS-CoV-2 is an anomaly among CoVs.
7/
The researchers proposing recombination need to quantify odds & uncertainty of their hypothesis as we've done with our theory.
All other CoVs were subject to recombination, yet SARS-CoV-2 is an anomaly among CoVs.
7/
That's worth repeating:
Recombination happened in all other CoVs, and it never once in the CoVs we examined produced such an idealized reverse genetic system
We estimate under 0.07% chance of finding this in pattern nature
What are the odds, P-values etc. of recombination?
8/
Recombination happened in all other CoVs, and it never once in the CoVs we examined produced such an idealized reverse genetic system
We estimate under 0.07% chance of finding this in pattern nature
What are the odds, P-values etc. of recombination?
8/
Crucially, the sequences proposed as being behind the recombination events all appear to have issues being debated in the peer-reviewed literature.
We're uncertain these sequences are correct, so we're uncertain about recombination.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bi…
9/
We're uncertain these sequences are correct, so we're uncertain about recombination.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bi…
9/
Our theory stands.
The endonuclease fingerprint of SARS-CoV-2 indicates a synthetic origin
Our theory has not been rejected by hand-waving of other methods or recombination.
It can be further researched with new data and rigorous probabilistic analyses
Science goes on!
10/10
The endonuclease fingerprint of SARS-CoV-2 indicates a synthetic origin
Our theory has not been rejected by hand-waving of other methods or recombination.
It can be further researched with new data and rigorous probabilistic analyses
Science goes on!
10/10
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