Identification of a High-Frequency Intrahost SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variant with Enhanced Cytopathic and Fusogenic Effects

Lynda Rocheleau; Geneviève Laroche; Kathy Fu; Corina M. Stewart; Abdulhamid O. Mohamud; Marceline Côté; Patrick M. Giguère; Marc-André Langlois; Martin Pelchat

doi:10.1128/mBio.00788-21

mBio (Jun 2021)

Identification of a High-Frequency Intrahost SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variant with Enhanced Cytopathic and Fusogenic Effects

Lynda Rocheleau,
Geneviève Laroche,
Kathy Fu,
Corina M. Stewart,
Abdulhamid O. Mohamud,
Marceline Côté,
Patrick M. Giguère,
Marc-André Langlois,
Martin Pelchat

Affiliations

Lynda Rocheleau: Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Geneviève Laroche: Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Kathy Fu: Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Corina M. Stewart: Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Abdulhamid O. Mohamud: Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Marceline Côté: ORCiD; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Patrick M. Giguère: ORCiD; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Marc-André Langlois: ORCiD; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Martin Pelchat: ORCiD; Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00788-21
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 3

Abstract

Read online

The mutation rate and evolution of RNA viruses correlate with viral adaptation. While most mutations do not make significant contributions to viral molecular evolution, some are naturally selected and produce variants through positive selection.

Published in mBio

ISSN: 2161-2129 (Print); 2150-7511 (Online)
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Microbiology
Website: https://journals.asm.org/journal/mbio

About the journal