Is the Coronavirus Evolving?
Author: Beomhyeok Lee
A recent study on SARS-CoV-2 variants has discovered that a SARS-CoV-2 variant with D614G mutation on its viral spike protein became the most prevalent form in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The research team has used the Global Initiative for Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) SARS-CoV-2 sequence database upon the approval of GISAID, in order to analyze the virus’ genetic sequence changes and track down the geographical region of the mutant virus.
The analysis result showed that the Spike D614G mutation has firstly appeared at position 23,403 (A-to-G mutation) in the Wuhan reference strain. Later, this strain has begun to appear more and more frequently in Europe, followed by North America and Oceania, then Asia. Statistical models on the frequency of the original type (D614) and mutant type (G614) has led scientists to drawn the conclusion that the G614 strain may have a fitness advantage over the original form of the viral spike of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the G614 variant does not have an increased disease severity but has a potentially higher viral load in COVID-19 patients. These findings may help identify genetic features that would be crucial to the virus, which could help with gaining a more mechanistic understanding of SARS-CoV-2 and developing an immunological intervention for the outbreak.
References:
Article title: Tracking changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: evidence that D614G increases infectivity of the COVID-19 virus https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867420308205#undfig1
