Sars-CoV-2, the new strain of coronavirus behind the global Covid-19 pandemic, has changed in different countries by accumulating only a handful of key changes in its genome.
Among them is a unique change which has made the virus less infective, according to an analysis by Dhaka University researcher Mustak Ibn Ayub.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune yesterday, Dr Mustak, who teaches Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at the university said: “I noticed that the number of infected patients is lower in those countries where this kind of genome mutation (of coronavirus) prevails.”
The analysis, he said, was based on the data shared by 64 counties, including the three worst-hit countries — Italy, the US and the UK, in a research initiative titled Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) conducted by Germany-based Max Planck Institute for Informatics.
No information about Bangladesh
The analysis does not have any findings regarding the deadly virus’ genome sequencing in the country since GISAID was yet to receive any information from Bangladesh.
The 64 countries shared their findings based on previous research conducted by their respective higher authorities.
“So, Bangladesh can do the same through the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research collecting countrywide samples. It will not cost more than Tk20 lakh,” Mustak said.
The detection of genome mutation would provide a better understanding of measures needed to tackle the spread of the virus in Bangladesh, he added.
“If Bangladesh’s findings match with any of those in the GISAID, then we can take actions in line with it,” said the genetic engineering and biotechnology specialist.
The analysis
A genome is the complete genetic information of any living entity that works like the blueprint to determine its characteristics.
Mustak, who has done his PhD from the Oxford University, characterized two strains of the virus after analysing 3,000 complete genome sequences of Sars-CoV-2.
Designated as Sars-CoV-2a and Sars-CoV-2g, the strains have a unique difference in the 28,881-28,883 position of their genomes.
In Sars-CoV2g, those three positions are occupied by GGG, but in Sars-CoV2a, the GGG positions have mutated into AAC, the research findings show.
This is a unique event where three nucleotides (the building blocks of the virus genome) have changed as a “bloc” among 30,000 such positions in the virus genome.
The research also showed that this unique mutation negatively affects the nucleocapsid (N) protein, a crucial component for virus multiplication and infection of new cells.
The journal based on the research is waiting for peer review but has been published as a preprint at https://www.preprints.org/.
A remarkable finding in Mustak’s research is that the Sars-CoV-2a strain is prevalent in areas or countries with relatively low Covid-19 cases, such as Portugal, Netherlands, and Belgium, whereas in highly affected countries such as the US, Spain, France, and Germany, Sars-CoV-2g is predominant.
This trend is also true in different regions within a country, as shown in the research; Abruzzo in Italy has very low Covid-19 cases and high presence of Sars-CoV-2a.
This crucial observation sheds light on the association between Sars-CoV-2 mutations and their infectivity for the first time.
However, Mustak warns that more studies need to be designed and executed on this aspect of Sars-CoV-2 mutation across the world.
He expects that from such research, monitoring the dynamics of these two strains will give valuable information to understand and manage the course of Covid-19 pandemic around the globe.