Compensatory epistasis maintains ACE2 affinity in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1

Abstract

Evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is likely driven by many factors, including immune escape and receptor binding. Here, by measuring the binding affinity of more than 30,000 variants of the SARS-CoV-2 RBD to its receptor ACE2, Moulana et al. show that the evolution of the Omicron BA.1 variant was driven by interactions between mutations.