Short Communication
The worldwide search for the new mutations in the RNA-directed RNA Polymerase domain of SARS-CoV-2
Siarhei A. Dabravolski * ,
Yury K. Kavalionak

Mac Vet Rev 2021; 44 (1): 87 - 94

10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0036

Received: 24 June 2020

Received in revised form: 01 October 2020

Accepted: 12 November 2020

Available Online First: 31 December 2020

Published on: 15 March 2021

Correspondence: Siarhei A. Dabravolski, sergedobrowolski@gmail.com
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Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is an RNA virus, responsible for the current pandemic outbreak. In total, 200 genomes of the SARS‐CoV‐2 strains from four host organisms have been analyzed. To investigate the presence of the new mutations in the RNA-directed RNA Polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2, we analyzed sequences isolated from different hosts, with particular emphasis on human isolates. We performed a search for the new mutations of the RdRp proteins and study how those newly identified mutations could influence RdRp protein stability. Our results revealed 25 mutations in Rhinolophus sinicus, 1 in Mustela lutreola, 6 in Homo sapiens, and none in Mus musculus RdRp proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 isolates. We found that P323L is the most common stabilising radical mutation in human isolates. Also, we described several unique mutations, specific for studied hosts. Therefore, our data suggest that new and emerging variants of the SARS-CoV-2 RdRp have to be considered for the development of effective therapeutic agents and treatments.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, mutation, RNA-dependent, RNA polymerases, RdRp, Nsp12


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Copyright

© 2020 Dabravolski S.A. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 44, Issue 1, Pages 87-94, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0036, 2021