Double Mutant Coronavirus Variant

Q. What is the news?

A unique “double mutant” coronavirus variant with a combination of mutations, not seen anywhere else in the world, has been found in India.

Q. What is Mutation? 

• Mutation is an alteration in the genetic material (the genome) of a cell of a living organism or of a virus that is more or less permanent and that can be transmitted to the cell’s or the virus’s descendants.
• The genomes of organisms are all composed of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), whereas viral genomes can be of DNA or Ribo Nucleic Acid (RNA).

Q. What is a Double Mutant?

• Genome sequencing of a section of virus samples by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), revealed the presence of two mutations, E484Q and L452R together, in virus samples from states such as Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab and Gujarat.
• The INSACOG will submit details of this variant to a global repository called Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) and, if it merits, classify it as a Variant of Concern (VOC).
  
  • So far, only three global VOCs have been identified: the U.K. variant (B.1.1.7), the South African (B.1.351) and the Brazilian (P.1) lineage.

Q. What is a Variant of Concern? 

• These are variants for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.

Q. What are the challenges of Double Mutant?

• The double mutation in key areas of the virus' spike protein may increase the risks and allow the virus to escape the immune system.
  
  • The spike protein is the part of the virus that it uses to penetrate human cells.
• Presence of a VOC or suspected VOC does not automatically mean that they are causing the outbreak, but rather suggests challenges to public health measures for containment.
• While the double mutants have been associated with a reduction in vaccine efficacy as well as infectivity, their combined effect and biological implication has not yet been understood.

Q. Which all are the other variants? 

• Also genome variation studies from Kerala have revealed the presence of other mutations.
  
  • It is associated with the ability to help the coronavirus evade antibodies.
• The N440K mutation that is associated with immune escape has also been reported from 16 other countries, including the UK, Denmark, Singapore, Japan and Australia.