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Mutations that adapt SARS-CoV-2 to mustelid hosts do not increase fitness in the human airway. (preprint)
biorxiv; 2021.
Preprint
in English
| bioRxiv | ID: ppzbmed-10.1101.2021.08.20.456972
ABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 has a broad mammalian species tropism infecting humans, cats, dogs and farmed mink. Since the start of the 2019 pandemic several reverse zoonotic outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 have occurred in mink, one of which reinfected humans and caused a cluster of infections in Denmark. Here we investigate the molecular basis of mink and ferret adaptation and demonstrate the spike mutations Y453F, F486L, and N501T all specifically adapt SARS-CoV-2 to use mustelid ACE2. Furthermore, we risk assess these mutations and conclude mink-adapted viruses are unlikely to pose an increased threat to humans, as Y453F attenuates the virus replication in human cells and all 3 mink-adaptations have minimal antigenic impact. Finally, we show that certain SARS-CoV-2 variants emerging from circulation in humans may naturally have a greater propensity to infect mustelid hosts and therefore these species should continue to be surveyed for reverse zoonotic infections.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Preprints
Database:
bioRxiv
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Preprint
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