Chadha, J and Khullar, L and Mittal, N (2021) Facing the wrath of enigmatic mutations: a review on the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants amid coronavirus disease-19 pandemic. In: Environmental Microbiology .
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Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging respiratory virus responsible for the ongoing coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. More than a year into this pandemic, the COVID-19 fatigue is still escalating and takes hold of the entire world population. Driven by the ongoing geographical expansion and upcoming mutations, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a new shape in the form of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. These mutations in the viral spike (S) protein enhance the virulence of SARS-CoV-2 variants by improving viral infectivity, transmissibility and immune evasion abilities. Such variants have resulted in cluster outbreaks and fresh infection waves in various parts of the world with increased disease severity and poor clinical outcomes. Hence, the variants of SARS-CoV-2 pose a threat to human health and public safety. This review enlists the most recent updates regarding the presently characterized variants of SARS-CoV-2 recognized by the global regulatory health authorities (WHO, CDC). Based on the slender literature on SARS-CoV-2 variants, we collate information on the biological implications of these mutations on virus pathology. We also shed light on the efficacy of therapeutics and COVID-19 vaccines against the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. © 2021 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Item Type: | Journal Article |
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Publication: | Environmental Microbiology |
Publisher: | John Wiley and Sons Inc |
Additional Information: | The copyright for this article belongs to Authors |
Department/Centre: | Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Biophysics Unit |
Date Deposited: | 21 Nov 2021 16:27 |
Last Modified: | 21 Nov 2021 16:27 |
URI: | http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/69925 |
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