Emergence of a recurrent insertion in the N-terminal domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein.

ABSTRACT: Tracking the evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through genomic surveillance programs is undoubtedly one of the key priorities in the current pandemic situation. Although the genome of SARS-CoV-2 acquires mutations at a slower rate compared with other RNA viruses, evolutionary pressures derived from the widespread circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the human population have progressively favored the global emergence, though natural selection, of several variants of concern that carry multiple non-synonymous mutations in the spike glycoprotein. These are often placed in key sites within major antibody epitopes and may therefore confer resistance to neutralizing antibodies, leading to partial immune escape, or otherwise compensate infectivity deficits ass

SUBMITTER: Gerdol M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8743576 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature