Viruses (May 2022)

Dominance of Three Sublineages of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant in Mexico

  • Blanca Taboada,
  • Selene Zárate,
  • Rodrigo García-López,
  • José Esteban Muñoz-Medina,
  • Alejandro Sanchez-Flores,
  • Alfredo Herrera-Estrella,
  • Celia Boukadida,
  • Bruno Gómez-Gil,
  • Nelly Selem Mojica,
  • Mauricio Rosales-Rivera,
  • Angel Gustavo Salas-Lais,
  • Rosa María Gutiérrez-Ríos,
  • Antonio Loza,
  • Xaira Rivera-Gutierrez,
  • Joel Armando Vazquez-Perez,
  • Margarita Matías-Florentino,
  • Marissa Pérez-García,
  • Santiago Ávila-Ríos,
  • Juan Manuel Hurtado,
  • Carla Ivón Herrera-Nájera,
  • José de Jesús Núñez-Contreras,
  • Brenda Sarquiz-Martínez,
  • Víctor Eduardo García-Arias,
  • María Guadalupe Santiago-Mauricio,
  • Bernardo Martínez-Miguel,
  • Julissa Enciso-Ibarra,
  • Cristóbal Cháidez-Quiróz,
  • Pavel Iša,
  • Rosa María Wong-Chew,
  • María-Eugenia Jiménez-Corona,
  • Susana López,
  • Carlos F. Arias

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v14061165
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 6
p. 1165

Abstract

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In this study, we analyzed the sequences of SARS-CoV-2 isolates of the Delta variant in Mexico, which has completely replaced other previously circulating variants in the country due to its transmission advantage. Among all the Delta sublineages that were detected, 81.5 % were classified as AY.20, AY.26, and AY.100. According to publicly available data, these only reached a world prevalence of less than 1%, suggesting a possible Mexican origin. The signature mutations of these sublineages are described herein, and phylogenetic analyses and haplotype networks are used to track their spread across the country. Other frequently detected sublineages include AY.3, AY.62, AY.103, and AY.113. Over time, the main sublineages showed different geographical distributions, with AY.20 predominant in Central Mexico, AY.26 in the North, and AY.100 in the Northwest and South/Southeast. This work describes the circulation, from May to November 2021, of the primary sublineages of the Delta variant associated with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico and highlights the importance of SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance for the timely identification of emerging variants that may impact public health.

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