Emerging mutation in SARS-CoV-2 spike: Widening distribution over time in different geographic areas

Abstract

Background Recently, differences in mortality rates of COVID-19 in different geographic areas have become an important subject of research because these different mortality rates appear to be associated with mutations that appeared in SARS-CoV-2. The part of the viral body called the spike protein plays a critical role in the viral attachment and entry of the virus into the host cell. Accordingly, we hypothesized that mutations in this area will affect viral infectivity. Methods A total of 193 sequences of spike SARS-CoV-2 were randomly retrieved from five different geographic areas and collection dates (from December 2019 until July 2020). Multiple sequence alignment for mutation and phylogenetic analyses was conducted using Bioedit, UniProt, and MEGA X. Results We found 169 total mutations with 37 different mutations across the included samples. The D614G is the first and most frequently established mutation in different regions including Europe, Asia, America, Africa and Australia with the number of mutations of 49, 33, 17, 16 and 4, respectively. Furthermore, we also found mutations in several important domains in this virus including NTD and CTR/RBD of S1 subunit and at S2 subunit area, namely the peptide fusion (FP), and both heptad repetition (HR1 and 2) domains that suggested this could influence virus binding and membrane-host cell membrane fusion. Conclusion In summary, we concluded that mutation had generated diversity of spike SARS-CoV-2 sequences worldwide and is still growing. This analysis may provide important evidence that should be considered in vaccine development in different geographic areas.

Greek gods and the double-edged sword of liver regeneration

“…Ysrafil et al. hence suggest that the prevalence of different mutations might require the development of vaccines on a country-by-country basis [ 27 ].…”

Lessons and New Perspectives: Is Convalescent Plasma Therapy Effective on Covid-19 Patients?

“…The COVID-19 pandemic is currently a major public health concern and has become a significant and credible threat to economies around the world because the mortality and morbidity rates from this disease are still high. Coronavirus is a family of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-related Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) [1][2][3][4][5][6]. SARS-CoV-2 is a type of respiratory virus that can cause pneumonia in sufferers, and the first cases appeared in the city of Wuhan, China since December 2019.…”

“…SARS-CoV-2 is a type of respiratory virus that can cause pneumonia in sufferers, and the first cases appeared in the city of Wuhan, China since December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently reported the virus had infected 194 million people and caused 4.16 million deaths [6][7][8]. The high incidence, worsening of disease, increasing death rate and the severe impacts caused by the disease have shown few signs of decreasing in most areas of the world.…”

Quantifying Aerosol Generation in Maxillofacial Trauma Repair Techniques

“…5 Genetic diversity of the virus is also growing worldwide, with dozens of mutations discovered in multiple continents that have the potential to increase virulence and transmissibility. 6,7…”

“…5 Genetic diversity of the virus is also growing worldwide, with dozens of mutations discovered in multiple continents that have the potential to increase virulence and transmissibility. 6,7 Otolaryngologists are at increased risk of COVID-19 exposure as high viral loads have been found in nasal, throat, and sputum samples. 8,9 Transmission is thought to occur via direct contact with larger respiratory droplets as well as via inhalation of aerosolized viral particles that may remain in the air for hours.…”