Researchers Have Discovered How SARS-CoV-2 Is Mutating
The virus is deleting parts of its spike protein genome.
By B. DAVID ZARLEY Published 10 minutes ago
As the virus behind COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, continues to proliferate around the world, it is accruing more and more mutations.
Like any organism, most mutations damage the coronavirus, and those crippled viruses will rapidly die out.
Every now and then, though, these SARS-CoV-2 mutations will hit upon a winning variant that proves beneficial to the virus. When that happens — as it seems to have in the U.K., South Africa, and Manaus, Brazil — those virus variants may out-compete the old strains and take over.
These mutations appear to be helping the coronavirus attach better to human cells, as well as partially evading antibodies to prior strains.
A team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has uncovered how those SARS-CoV-2 mutations are happening: the virus is deleting portions of its genetic sequence that control the spike protein.
This infamous little protein, which resembles an armor-clad pin with a drunken wobble, is how the virus gets into the cells; it's also the main target of coronavirus vaccines (as well as antibodies created by infection).
Understanding just how it is changing may help us prepare better treatments and vaccines to fight back against new strains.
........Worse, changes to such a critical piece of the virus can also make it harder for our immune systems to recognize it as the same familiar foe.
"Once it's gone, it's gone, and if it's gone in an important part of the virus that the antibody 'sees,' then it's gone for good," Duprex said.
Since submitting their paper, published in Science, for preprint this past fall, the researchers have seen their discovery come to horrific life: the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants, first identified in the U.K. and South Africa, both have these SARS-CoV-2 mutations-by-deletion.....
.https://www.freethink.com/articles/sars-cov-2-mutations
The virus is deleting parts of its spike protein genome.
By B. DAVID ZARLEY Published 10 minutes ago
As the virus behind COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, continues to proliferate around the world, it is accruing more and more mutations.
Like any organism, most mutations damage the coronavirus, and those crippled viruses will rapidly die out.
Every now and then, though, these SARS-CoV-2 mutations will hit upon a winning variant that proves beneficial to the virus. When that happens — as it seems to have in the U.K., South Africa, and Manaus, Brazil — those virus variants may out-compete the old strains and take over.
These mutations appear to be helping the coronavirus attach better to human cells, as well as partially evading antibodies to prior strains.
A team led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has uncovered how those SARS-CoV-2 mutations are happening: the virus is deleting portions of its genetic sequence that control the spike protein.
This infamous little protein, which resembles an armor-clad pin with a drunken wobble, is how the virus gets into the cells; it's also the main target of coronavirus vaccines (as well as antibodies created by infection).
Understanding just how it is changing may help us prepare better treatments and vaccines to fight back against new strains.
........Worse, changes to such a critical piece of the virus can also make it harder for our immune systems to recognize it as the same familiar foe.
"Once it's gone, it's gone, and if it's gone in an important part of the virus that the antibody 'sees,' then it's gone for good," Duprex said.
Since submitting their paper, published in Science, for preprint this past fall, the researchers have seen their discovery come to horrific life: the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants, first identified in the U.K. and South Africa, both have these SARS-CoV-2 mutations-by-deletion.....
.https://www.freethink.com/articles/sars-cov-2-mutations
Comment