Updated picture of SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutations

Giuseppe Lippi1, Camilla Mattiuzzi2, Brandon M Henry3,4

  • 1Section of Clinical Biochemistry and School of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.

Diagnosis (Berlin, Germany)
|December 27, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues globally, with evolving variants and mutations challenging vaccine and treatment effectiveness. This review details COVID-19 variants and mutations from late 2019 to late 2021.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has resulted in millions of infections and deaths worldwide.
  • Preventive measures like lockdowns and masking show limited long-term efficacy.
  • Existing vaccines face challenges from low uptake, variable efficacy, and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an updated overview of SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutations.
  • To track the emergence and characteristics of new strains.
  • To inform ongoing strategies against the evolving pandemic.

Main Methods:

  • Review of scientific literature and public health data.
  • Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences.
  • Tracking of reported variants and mutations.

Main Results:

  • Significant global burden of COVID-19 with ongoing infections and fatalities.
  • Identification of numerous SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutations since late 2019.
  • Emergence of new variants potentially impacting vaccine and treatment efficacy.

Conclusions:

  • The continuous evolution of SARS-CoV-2 necessitates ongoing monitoring of variants and mutations.
  • Adaptation of public health strategies and medical interventions is crucial.
  • Further research is needed to address the challenges posed by new viral strains.

Related Concept Videos

Viral Mutations00:36

Viral Mutations

A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material...
34.5K
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs01:05

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs

A single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP is a single nucleotide variation at a specific genomic position in a large population. It is the most prevalent type of sequence variation found in the human genome. Point mutations that occur in more than 1% of the population qualify as SNPs. These are present once every 1000 nucleotides on an average in the human genome. Replacement of a purine with another purine (A/G) or a pyrimidine with another pyrimidine (C/T) is known as a transition. In contrast,...
16.7K
Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer01:03

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer

Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand  RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
5.5K
Mutations in Microorganisms01:18

Mutations in Microorganisms

Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...
161
Comparing Copy Number Variations and SNPs02:26

Comparing Copy Number Variations and SNPs

Sequencing of the human genome has opened up several best-kept secrets of the genome. Scientists have identified thousands of genome variations that exist within a population. These variations can be a single nucleotide or a larger chromosomal variation.
Copy number variations or CNVs are the structural variations that cover more than 1kb of DNA sequence. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), on the other hand, is a single nucleotide change or a point mutation that is found in more than 1%...
18.1K
Viral Recombination00:57

Viral Recombination

Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
23.9K