The severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), greatly varies from patient to patient. In thepresent study, we explored and compared mutation profiles of SARS-CoV-2 isolated frommildly affected and severely affected COVID-19 patients in order to explore any relationship between mutation profile and disease severity. Genomic sequences of SARS-CoV-2were downloaded from Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database. With the help of Genome Detective Coronavirus Typing Tool, genomic sequenceswere aligned with the Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus reference sequence and allthe mutations were identified. Distribution of mutant variants was then compared between mildly and severely affected groups. Among the numerous mutations detected,14408CT and 23403AG mutations resulting in RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp)P323L and spike protein D614G mutations, respectively, were found predominantly in severely affected group (82%) compared with mildly affected group (46%, p 0.001). The241CT mutation in the non-coding region of the genome was also found predominantlyin severely affected group (p 0.001). The 3037CT, a silent mutation, also appeared inrelatively high frequency in severely affected group compared with mildly affected group,but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.06). We concluded that spike protein D614G and RdRp P323L mutations in SARS-CoV-2 are associated with severity ofCOVID-19. Further studies will be required to explore whether these mutations have anyimpact on the severity of disease.
展开▼
