Predominance of the SARS-CoV-2 Lineage P.1 and Its Sublineage P.1.2 in Patients from the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil in March 2021

Pathogens

Flávio Adsuara Cadegiani¹  Alexandre Horn²  Christiano Perin²  Ricardo Ariel Zimerman²  Gabriela Bettella Cybis³  Vinícius Bonetti Franceschi⁴  Claudia Elizabeth Thompson⁴  Patrícia Aline Gröhs Ferrareze⁵  Liane Nanci Rotta⁵  Gabriel Dickin Caldana⁵  Camila Peter⁶ 

[1] Corpometria Institute, Brasília 70390-150, DF, Brazil;Department of Infection Control and Prevention, Hospital da Brigada Militar, Porto Alegre 91900-590, RS, Brazil;Department of Statistics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, RS, Brazil;Graduate Program in Cell and Molecular Biology (PPGBCM), Center of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre 91501-970, RS, Brazil;Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre 90050-170, RS, Brazil;Laboratório Exame, Novo Hamburgo 93510-250, RS, Brazil;

关键词: COVID-19;    severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2;    infectious diseases;    high-throughput nucleotide sequencing;    molecular evolution;    molecular epidemiology;   

DOI  :  10.3390/pathogens10080988

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Almost a year after the COVID-19 pandemic had begun, new lineages (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, and B.1.617.2) associated with enhanced transmissibility, immunity evasion, and mortality were identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil. The previous most prevalent lineages in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS, Southern Brazil), B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33, were rapidly replaced by P.1 and P.2, two B.1.1.28-derived lineages harboring the E484K mutation. To perform a genomic characterization from the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, we sequenced viral samples to: (i) identify the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in the region, the state, and bordering countries/regions; (ii) characterize the mutation spectra; (iii) hypothesize viral dispersal routes by using phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches. We found that 96.4% of the samples belonged to the P.1 lineage and approximately 20% of them were assigned as the novel P.1.2, a P.1-derived sublineage harboring signature substitutions recently described in other Brazilian states and foreign countries. Moreover, sequences from this study were allocated in distinct branches of the P.1 phylogeny, suggesting multiple introductions in RS and placing this state as a potential diffusion core of P.1-derived clades and the emergence of P.1.2. It is uncertain whether the emergence of P.1.2 and other P.1 clades is related to clinical or epidemiological consequences. However, the clear signs of molecular diversity from the recently introduced P.1 warrant further genomic surveillance.

【 授权许可】

Unknown