Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA identified in Eastern India: Possible implications for the ongoing outbreak in India and impact on viral structure and host susceptibility.

Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA identified in Eastern India: Possible implications for the ongoing outbreak in India and impact on viral structure and host susceptibility. J Biosci. 2020;45: Authors: Maitra A, Sarkar MC, Raheja H, Biswas NK, Chakraborti S, Singh AK, Ghosh S, Sarkar S, Patra S, Mondal RK, Ghosh T, Chatterjee A, Banu H, Majumdar A, Chinnaswamy S, Srinivasan N, Dutta S, DAS S Abstract Direct massively parallel sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genome was undertaken from nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab samples of infected individuals in Eastern India. Seven of the isolates belonged to the A2a clade, while one belonged to the B4 clade. Specific mutations, characteristic of the A2a clade, were also detected, which included the P323L in RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and D614G in the Spike glycoprotein. Further, our data revealed emergence of novel subclones harbouring nonsynonymous mutations, viz. G1124V in Spike (S) protein, R203K, and G204R in the nucleocapsid (N) protein. The N protein mutations reside in the SR-rich region involved in viral capsid formation and the S protein mutation is in the S2 domain, which is involved in triggering viral fusion with the host cell membrane. Interesting correlation was observed between these mutations and travel or contact history of COVID-19 positive cases. Consequent alterations of miRNA binding and structure were also predicted for these mutations. More importantly, the possible impl...
Source: Journal of Biosciences - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Tags: J Biosci Source Type: research