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Before March, most of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes that researchers worldwide isolated and sequenced encoded an aspartic acid (D) at residue 614 of the viral spike protein. By April, the majority of viral sequences harbored a single mutation in the genome converting the D to a glycine (G). Presently, the 614D variant has been all but replaced by the 614G variant globally.
These findings, described in a study published in Cell in August, and corroborating evidence from other groups have led scientists around the world to investigate whether the rapid shift in representation of circulating viral strains is based on random introduction by a group of mobile founders or if it indicates that 614G provides some sort of selective advantage to the virus—making it more infective, for instance.
An answer to this question would have big importance to addressing the pandemic, according to Jessica Plante, a virologist at ...
