SARS-CoV-2 produces a microRNA, CoV2-miR-O8, in patients with COVID-19 infection

SARS-CoV-2 can generate viral microRNAs (v-miRNAs) that target host gene expression. This study used small RNAseq to identify the v-miRNAs present in COVID-19 patients' nasopharyngeal swabs. The study identified a specific conserved v-miRNA sequence (CoV2-miR-O8) unique to SARS-CoV-2 that is highly present in COVID-19 patients' samples, interacts with Argonaute, and has features consistent with Dicer and Drosha generation. CoV2-miR-O8 is predicted to target specific human genes and can be detected by RTPCR assays in patients. Overall design: small RNA-seq analysis on RNA extracted from nasopharyngeal swabs obtained from patients with COVID-19 infection ascertained by a routine diagnostic RT PCR assay