Human SARS CoV-2 spike protein mutations in West Africa

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), first detected in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019. The virus rapidly spread worldwide, with mutations in various parts of its genetic
material affecting its transmissibility and infectivity.

Objective: This study addressed some of the mutations present in the human SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins relative to Wuhan-Hu-1  reference sequence from China, according to different countries from West Africa

Methods: The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein sequences were obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information virus  database in the FASTA format on November 12, 2021. The multiple sequence alignment of the proteins was carried out by MAFFT version 7 online. The human SARS-CoV-2 spike protein sequences from selected West African countries were analyzed by comparing them with  the reference SARS-CoV-2 protein sequence from Wuhan-Hu-1, China.

Results: Out of 148 spike protein sequences analyzed, 137 proteins  had one or more mutations. A total of 486 mutations were observed corresponding to 47 distinct mutation sites. In the analysis  of the spike proteins in the study, it was observed that the Receptor Binding Domain which is involved in the interactions with human  angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) receptor causing infection leading to the COVID19 disease had 8 distinct mutation sites. The  D614G mutation is the most common in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein observed so far among all the West African countries examined in  this study and thus the most predominant. In this study, we examined spike proteins not associated with mutations, the distribution of  mutations in spike proteins, mutation density in different regions of the spike protein sequence, spike protein sequences with multiple  mutations and the Human SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutation in West Africa and implications for vaccination and drug development  purposes.

Conclusion: The identified mutations in SARS-CoV-2 are significant for infection prevention, control, and public health  interventions. Further studies are imperative to understand the mutations in the virus's spike proteins to guide vaccine development and  antiviral drug designs. Investigations should also be conducted to determine the infectivity of emerging variants in West Africa and their  response to vaccines and available drugs to address public health concerns on vaccination and drug design goals.