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; Tiago Gräf; Anna Carolina Dias Paixão; Luciana Appolinario; Renata Serrano Lopes; Ana Carolina da Fonseca Mendonça; Alice Sampaio Barreto da Rocha; Fernando Couto Motta; Lidio Gonçalves Lima Neto; Ricardo Khouri; Camila I. de Oliveira; Pedro Santos-Muccillo; João Felipe Bezerra; Dalane Loudal Florentino Teixeira; Irina Riediger; Maria do Carmo Debur; Rodrigo Ribeiro-Rodrigues; Anderson Brandao Leite; Cliomar Alves do Santos; Tatiana Schäffer Gregianini; Sandra Bianchini Fernandes; André Felipe Leal Bernardes; Andrea Cony Cavalcanti; Fábio Miyajima; Claudio Sachhi; Tirza Mattos; Cristiano Fernandes da Costa; Edson Delatorre; Gabriel L. Wallau; Felipe G. Naveca; Gonzalo Bello; Marilda Mendonça Siqueira

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

2021

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.

Mostrar más [+]