Third local variant of coronavirus found in the United States, researchers say, first appeared in Texas in MAY

Researchers have discovered the third new variant of the coronavirus in the United States and say it may be the most easily transmitted to date.

A team from Southern Illinois University Carbondale traced the first appearance of the new variant, called 20C-US, to Texas in May 2020.

The variant carries several mutations, including the spike protein, which the virus uses to enter and infect human cells.

Scientists say the variant has not spread significantly beyond the country’s borders, but it is most prevalent in the Upper Midwest.

Additionally, the variant accounts for almost 50% of all genomes sequenced between November 1 and December 30, which means it is likely very widespread.

“We predict that 20C-US may already be the most dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States,” the team wrote in a preprinted article.

“The ongoing evolution of 20C-US, along with other region-specific dominant variants emerging around the world, should continue to be monitored with genomic, epidemiological and experimental studies to understand viral evolution and predict outcomes. future of the pandemic.

20C-US is now part of the growing list of mutations discovered in countries like the UK, South Africa and Brazil.

The news comes just a day after researchers in Ohio announced the first discovery of two local variants – one virtually identical to a variant that emerged in the UK and the other completely unique in the US and dominant in the capital of Columbus.

Led by Dr. Keith Gagnon, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at SIU, the team first noticed the possibility of the new variant when examining genome sequencing data from Illinois.

“The data kind of jumped off the page when we looked at it, so we started looking at the national data, and later the global genome sequence data,” Gagnon said in a press release.

Viral genomes have been sequenced from samples taken from March 2020 to the present day.

“The data kind of jumped off the page when we looked at it, so we started looking at the national data, and later the global genome sequence data,” Gagnon said in a press release.

The team began sequencing viral genomes from samples taken from March 2020 until today and one variant has become more pronounced than the others.

To see if it was present nationally, the researchers randomly sub-sampled 3.3 percent of the US genomes available in the GISAID global genomic database.

The first appearance was found from a sample taken from the greater Houston area of ​​Texas on May 20, 2020.

After the variant over time, there was a noticeable expansion of the variant’s presence in July 2020, which coincides with the second wave of the US pandemic, in states such as Wisconsin and Illinois.

However, between November 1 and December 31, nearly 50% of all genomes sequenced in the United States are the new variant.

Researchers suggest this means 20C-US has “ exceeded 50% penetrance to become the most dominant variant in the United States ”

However, it has a high prevalence in the eastern and midwestern regions and has not spread widely in the western half of the United States.

‘It’s here. We found him. It is definitely a local and widespread product, and we are the first to characterize it, ”said Gagnon.

20C-US has been reported in other countries including Australia, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand, but at low levels.

The first mutations the virus showed were in genes related to the maturation of viral particles – a process by which a virus detaches from a host cell and activates to infect more cells – and the processing of viral proteins.

Gagnon says all of this is important for virus production.

Since then, the new variant has formed two new mutations in the spike protein, demonstrating that it is evolving.

Evidence is lacking, but the team says the combination of reduced case fatality rates and increased COVID-19 infections suggests the new variant is highly transmissible but causes only moderate illness.

Dr Daniel Jones, of Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, who discovered the Columbus variant, told DailyMail.com that the Illinois variant “ seems closely related but not exactly the same ”.

Jones said that means the two groups of researchers – in Ohio and Illinois – are likely tracking variants of the same outgrowth.

With the first doses of newly approved vaccines being administered across the country, Gagnon said it is not known whether variant will have an impact on its effectiveness.

“Based on the mutations so far, I don’t think it will have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the vaccine,” he said.

“The catch is that the virus continues to evolve and, since May, it has acquired three mutations, including two in the spike protein, one of which could affect antibody binding. There are a lot of unknowns.

Pfizer and Moderna have tested their vaccines against the international variants and say they expect the vaccines to provide protection.