ABSTRACT
Objective: Due to the rapid spread of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) globally, the WHO declared the situation as a pandemic. ACE2 is crucial for SARS-CoV-2 attachment onto the host cells. The expression levels and variations of ACE2 may facilitate or slow down the entrance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into host cells. This might explain the variability of infection through individuals and populations. Materials-Methods: In this study, a retrospective comparative WES analysis of the ACE2 variants was conducted to 584 individuals around Turkey. Allele frequencies of all variants were calculated and filtered to remove variants with allele frequencies lower than 0.003. Results: The variants that showed a susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the literature were compared with our data. The most frequent variant, ACE2 N720D, and the second most frequent variant, ACE2 K26R that alters ACE2 protein and enhances its affinity for SARS-CoV-2 are not frequent in the Turkish population. Conclusion: The main ACE variants that has susceptibility effect to SARS-CoV-2 were not determined. It shows that the Turkish genetic makeup lacks any ACE2 variant that increases susceptibility for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, this study will contribute to the formation of a national variation database and may also contribute to further studies of SARS-CoV-2 infection.