A study involving more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients in Houston found that the virus that causes the disease is accumulating genetic mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious. According to the paper mBIO, that mutation—called D614G—is located in the spike protein that pries open our cells for viral entry.
"The virus is mutating due to a combination of neutral drift—which just means random genetic changes that don't help or hurt the virus—and pressure from our immune systems," said Ilya Finkelstein, co-author of the study. The study was carried out by scientists at Houston Methodist Hospital, UT Austin with the support of other research institutions.
The scientists noted a total of 285 mutations across thousands of infections, although most don't appear to have a significant effect on how severe the disease is. Ongoing studies are continuing to surveil the third wave of COVID-19 patients and to characterize how the virus is adapting to neutralizing antibodies that are produced by our immune systems.
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"We have given this virus a lot of chances," lead author James Musser of Houston Methodist added. "There is a huge population size out there right now."
The team tested different genetic variants of the virus' spike protein, to measure the protein's stability and to see how well it binds to a receptor on host cells and to neutralizing antibodies. The researchers found that SARS-CoV-2 was introduced to the Houston area many times, independently, from diverse geographic regions, with virus strains from Europe, Asia, South America and elsewhere in the United States.