Viruses . A Potential SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Interest (VOI) Harboring Mutation E484K in the Spike Protein Was Identified within Lineage B.1.1.33 Circulating in Brazil

[tetano]

Viruses


. 2021 Apr 21;13(5):724.
doi: 10.3390/v13050724.
A Potential SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Interest (VOI) Harboring Mutation E484K in the Spike Protein Was Identified within Lineage B.1.1.33 Circulating in Brazil


Paola Cristina Resende ^{1 2} , Tiago Gr?f ^{1 3} , Anna Carolina Dias Paix?o ^{1 2} , Luciana Appolinario ^{1 2} , Renata Serrano Lopes ^{1 2} , Ana Carolina da Fonseca Mendon?a ^{1 2} , Alice Sampaio Barreto da Rocha ^{1 2} , Fernando Couto Motta ^{1 2} , Lidio Gon?alves Lima Neto ⁴ , Ricardo Khouri ^{1 3 5} , Camila I de Oliveira ^{1 3 5} , Pedro Santos-Muccillo ^{1 3 6} , Jo?o Felipe Bezerra ⁷ , Dalane Loudal Florentino Teixeira ⁸ , Irina Riediger ⁹ , Maria do Carmo Debur ⁹ , Rodrigo Ribeiro-Rodrigues ^{10 11} , Anderson Brandao Leite ¹² , Cliomar Alves do Santos ¹³ , Tatiana Sch?ffer Gregianini ¹⁴ , Sandra Bianchini Fernandes ¹⁵ , Andr? Felipe Leal Bernardes ¹⁶ , Andrea Cony Cavalcanti ¹⁷ , F?bio Miyajima ^{1 18} , Claudio Sachhi ¹⁹ , Tirza Mattos ²⁰ , Cristiano Fernandes da Costa ²¹ , Edson Delatorre ^{1 22} , Gabriel L Wallau ^{1 23} , Felipe G Naveca ^{1 24} , Gonzalo Bello ^{1 25} , Marilda Mendon?a Siqueira ^{1 2}



Affiliations

• PMID: 33919314
• DOI: 10.3390/v13050724

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic in Brazil was dominated by two lineages designated as B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33. The two SARS-CoV-2 variants harboring mutations at the receptor-binding domain of the Spike (S) protein, designated as lineages P.1 and P.2, evolved from lineage B.1.1.28 and are rapidly spreading in Brazil. Lineage P.1 is considered a Variant of Concern (VOC) because of the presence of multiple mutations in the S protein (including K417T, E484K, N501Y), while lineage P.2 only harbors mutation S:E484K and is considered a Variant of Interest (VOI). On the other hand, epidemiologically relevant B.1.1.33 deriving lineages have not been described so far. Here we report the identification of a new SARS-CoV-2 VOI within lineage B.1.1.33 that also harbors mutation S:E484K and was detected in Brazil between November 2020 and February 2021. This VOI displayed four non-synonymous lineage-defining mutations (NSP3:A1711V, NSP6:F36L, S:E484K, and NS7b:E33A) and was designated as lineage N.9. The VOI N.9 probably emerged in August 2020 and has spread across different Brazilian states from the Southeast, South, North, and Northeast regions.

Keywords: Brazil; E484K; SARS-CoV-2; genomic epidemiology; variant of Interest.