Nature . Emergence of a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern with mutations in spike glycoprotein

[tetano]

Nature


. 2021 Mar 9.
doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03402-9. Online ahead of print.
Emergence of a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern with mutations in spike glycoprotein


Houriiyah Tegally ^{# 1} , Eduan Wilkinson ^{# 1} , Marta Giovanetti ^{# 2 3} , Arash Iranzadeh ^{# 4} , Vagner Fonseca ^{1 3} , Jennifer Giandhari ¹ , Deelan Doolabh ⁵ , Sureshnee Pillay ¹ , Emmanuel James San ¹ , Nokukhanya Msomi ⁶ , Koleka Mlisana ^{7 8} , Anne von Gottberg ^{9 10} , Sibongile Walaza ^{9 11} , Mushal Allam ⁹ , Arshad Ismail ⁹ , Thabo Mohale ⁹ , Allison J Glass ^{10 12} , Susan Engelbrecht ¹³ , Gert Van Zyl ¹³ , Wolfgang Preiser ¹³ , Francesco Petruccione ^{14 15} , Alex Sigal ^{16 17 18} , Diana Hardie ¹⁹ , Gert Marais ¹⁹ , Marvin Hsiao ¹⁹ , Stephen Korsman ¹⁹ , Mary-Ann Davies ^{20 21} , Lynn Tyers ⁵ , Innocent Mudau ⁵ , Denis York ²² , Caroline Maslo ²³ , Dominique Goedhals ²⁴ , Shareef Abrahams ²⁵ , Oluwakemi Laguda-Akingba ^{25 26} , Arghavan Alisoltani-Dehkordi ^{27 28} , Adam Godzik ²⁸ , Constantinos Kurt Wibmer ⁹ , Bryan Trevor Sewell ²⁹ , Jos? Louren?o ³⁰ , Luiz Carlos Junior Alcantara ^{2 3} , Sergei L Kosakovsky Pond ³¹ , Steven Weaver ³¹ , Darren Martin ^{4 5} , Richard J Lessells ^{1 8} , Jinal N Bhiman ^{9 10} , Carolyn Williamson ^{5 8 19} , Tulio de Oliveira ^{32 33 34}



Affiliations

• PMID: 33690265
• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03402-9

Abstract

Continued uncontrolled transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in many parts of the world is creating the conditions for significant virus evolution^1,2. Here, we describe a new SARS-CoV-2 lineage (501Y.V2) characterised by eight lineage-defining mutations in the spike protein, including three at important residues in the receptor-binding domain (K417N, E484K and N501Y) that may have functional significance^3-5. This lineage was identified in South Africa after the first epidemic wave in a severely affected metropolitan area, Nelson Mandela Bay, located on the coast of the Eastern Cape Province. This lineage spread rapidly, becoming dominant in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces within weeks. Whilst the full significance of the mutations is yet to be determined, the genomic data, showing the rapid expansion and displacement of other lineages in multiple regions, suggest that this lineage is associated with a selection advantage, most plausibly as a result of increased transmissibility or immune escape^6-8.