Abstract
Several SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged, posing a renewed threat to COVID-19 containment and to vaccine and drug efficacy. In this study, we analyzed more than 820,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences deposited up to March 26, 2021 and identified a novel T478K mutation located on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. The mutation is structurally located in the region of interaction with human receptor ACE2 and was detected in 4,214 distinct cases. We show that T478K has appeared and risen in frequency since January 2021, predominantly in Mexico and North America, but we could also detect it in several European countries.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Copyright
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Posted March 29, 2021.
