Coronavirus mutation becomes ‘urgent concern’ as it dominates across Europe and North America
- Researchers in Britain and US find 13 mutations in spike protein, one of which is becoming increasingly prevalent as Covid-19 spreads round globe
- New form has matter scientists split over whether it is likely to prove more transmissible or deadly than the original strain identified in China
Researchers have identified a coronavirus mutation that has quickly become dominant as Covid-19 spreads around the world, but it is unclear yet whether the strain will prove more contagious or deadly than the original.
A study led by Bette Korber, a computational biologist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, found 13 mutations in the spike protein that the coronavirus uses to infect human cells.
One of these, known as D614G, was described as being of “urgent concern” because it had become “the dominant pandemic form in many countries”.
The report, published on April 30 on bioRxiv.org, a prepublication biology server, has not been peer-reviewed and was the subject of heated scientific discussions for not offering concrete evidence that the D614G mutation was more transmissible than the original strain.
Scientists say that it is natural for mutations to occur in viruses, but that more research is needed to test specific mutations to determine whether they are more infectious or dangerous.
