Researchers across various institutions have identified 6,822 mutations in the Coronavirus as of now.
Among several notions with regards to COVID-19 mutation, there have been speculations that the mutation in the viral genome may well influence the transmission price of the Coronavirus infection. However, a new study indicates that this is not the case. It is to note that ever considering the fact that SARS-CoV-2 infection has broken out, wellness authorities have observed mutations in the genome various occasions. This has led several to think that mutated COVID-19 can spread at a unique price. A study published in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution, mutated Coronavirus will not have a larger transmissibility, The IE reported. As per the study’s lead author Professor Francois Balloux, mutations are not benefitting the virus in any way.
Usually, any mutation in the Coronavirus is performed in 3 strategies. Mutation can take location either be by error due to error in copying at the time of viral replication or it can come about by means of interactions with other viruses that have infected the very same cell. The third way the virus can mutate is due to the immune response of the host. The study highlighted that typically the mutations are neutral but there are some instances, exactly where the mutation may well turn out to be detrimental or advantageous to a virus. Fortunately, the mutations in Coronavirus are neutral and do not influence the viral properties in any way.
Researchers across various institutions have identified 6,822 mutations in the Coronavirus as of now. There have been 31 mutations that turned out to have occurred at least 10 occasions and have been independent of the pandemic course. In order to have an understanding of this completely, researchers modelled an evolutionary tree for SARS-CoV-2 and looked for any patterns that indicate any certain mutation becoming frequent amongst persons. By analyzing this, it was found that any frequent mutation does not lead to any enhanced transmission of viral infection.
Further, the study noted that the most frequent mutation identified was the virus spike protein named D614G. Also, these mutations have been induced as a response to the human immune method than errors in copying or virus adapting to the human host.