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© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

The worldwide battle against the SARS-CoV-2 virus rages on, with millions infected and many innocent lives lost. The causative organism, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a beta coronavirus that belongs to the Coronaviridae family. Many clinically significant variants have emerged, as the virus’s genome is prone to various mutations, leading to antigenic drift and resulting in evasion of host immune recognition. The current variants of concern (VOCs) include B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), B.1.617/B.1.617.2 (Delta), and P.1 (Gamma). The emerging variants contain various important mutations on the spike protein, leading to deleterious consequences, such as immune invasion and vaccine escape. These adverse effects result in increased transmissibility, morbidity, and mortality and the evasion of detection by existing or currently available diagnostic tests, potentially delaying diagnosis and treatment. This review discusses the key mutations present in the VOC strains and provides insights into how these mutations allow for greater transmissibility and immune evasion than the progenitor strain. Continuous monitoring and surveillance of VOC strains play a vital role in preventing and controlling the virus’s spread.

Details

Title
Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (VOCs): An Impending Global Crisis
Author
Thye, Angel Yun-Kuan 1 ; Jodi Woan-Fei Law 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pusparajah, Priyia 1 ; Letchumanan, Vengadesh 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kok-Gan, Chan 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Learn-Han, Lee 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Novel Bacteria and Drug Discovery Research Group (NBDD), Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS), Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia; [email protected] (A.Y.-K.T.); [email protected] (J.W.-F.L.); [email protected] (P.P.) 
 Division of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; International Genome Centre, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China 
First page
1303
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
22279059
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2584330345
Copyright
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.