RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 SARS-CoV-2 D614G Variant Exhibits Enhanced Replication <em>ex vivo</em> and Earlier Transmission <em>in vivo</em>
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.09.28.317685
DO 10.1101/2020.09.28.317685
A1 Yixuan J. Hou
A1 Shiho Chiba
A1 Peter Halfmann
A1 Camille Ehre
A1 Makoto Kuroda
A1 Kenneth H Dinnon III
A1 Sarah R. Leist
A1 Alexandra Schäfer
A1 Noriko Nakajima
A1 Kenta Takahashi
A1 Rhianna E. Lee
A1 Teresa M. Mascenik
A1 Caitlin E. Edwards
A1 Longping V. Tse
A1 Richard C. Boucher
A1 Scott H. Randell
A1 Tadaki Suzuki
A1 Lisa E. Gralinski
A1 Yoshihiro Kawaoka
A1 Ralph S. Baric
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/09/29/2020.09.28.317685.abstract
AB The D614G substitution in the S protein is most prevalent SARS-CoV-2 strain circulating globally, but its effects in viral pathogenesis and transmission remain unclear. We engineered SARS-CoV-2 variants harboring the D614G substitution with or without nanoluciferase. The D614G variant replicates more efficiency in primary human proximal airway epithelial cells and is more fit than wildtype (WT) virus in competition studies. With similar morphology to the WT virion, the D614G virus is also more sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. Infection of human ACE2 transgenic mice and Syrian hamsters with the WT or D614G viruses produced similar titers in respiratory tissue and pulmonary disease. However, the D614G variant exhibited significantly faster droplet transmission between hamsters than the WT virus, early after infection. Our study demonstrated the SARS-CoV2 D614G substitution enhances infectivity, replication fitness, and early transmission.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.