Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 tracks early interstate transmission of P.1 lineage and diversification within P.2 clade in Brazil

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Oct 13;15(10):e0009835. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009835. eCollection 2021 Oct.

Abstract

The sharp increase of COVID-19 cases in late 2020 has made Brazil the new epicenter of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The novel viral lineages P.1 (Variant of Concern Gamma) and P.2, respectively identified in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Rio de Janeiro, have been associated with potentially higher transmission rates and antibody neutralization escape. In this study, we performed the whole-genome sequencing of 185 samples isolated from three out of the five Brazilian regions, including Amazonas (North region), Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Bahia (Northeast region), and Rio de Janeiro (Southeast region) in order to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in Brazil in the first months of 2021. Here, we showed a widespread dispersal of P.1 and P.2 across Brazilian regions and, except for Amazonas, P.2 was the predominant lineage identified in the sampled states. We estimated the origin of P.2 lineage to have happened in February, 2020 and identified that it has differentiated into new clades. Interstate transmission of P.2 was detected since March, but reached its peak in December, 2020 and January, 2021. Transmission of P.1 was also high in December and its origin was inferred to have happened in August 2020. We also confirmed the presence of lineage P.7, recently described in the southernmost region of Brazil, to have spread across the Northeastern states. P.1, P.2 and P.7 are descended from the ancient B.1.1.28 strain, which co-dominated the first phase of the pandemic in Brazil with the B.1.1.33 strain. We also identified the occurrence of a new lineage descending from B.1.1.33 that convergently carries the E484K mutation, N.9. Indeed, the recurrent report of many novel SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants in Brazil could be due to the absence of effective control measures resulting in high SARS-CoV2 transmission rates. Altogether, our findings provided a landscape of the critical state of SARS-CoV-2 across Brazil and confirm the need to sustain continuous sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 isolates worldwide in order to identify novel variants of interest and monitor for vaccine effectiveness.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology*
  • COVID-19 / transmission
  • COVID-19 / virology*
  • Genetic Variation
  • Genome, Viral*
  • Genomics / methods*
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Phylogeny
  • SARS-CoV-2* / classification
  • SARS-CoV-2* / genetics

Grants and funding

This work was developed in the frameworks of Corona-ômica-RJ (FAPERJ = E-26/210.179/2020 http://www.faperj.br/) and Rede Corona-ômica BR MCTI/FINEP (FINEP = 01.20.0029.000462/20 http://www.finep.gov.br/; CNPq = 404096/2020-4 https://www.gov.br/cnpq/pt-br). A.T.R.V is supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq (303170/2017-4) and FAPERJ (E-26/202.903/20). R.S.F.J is a recipient of a graduate fellowship from CNPq. A.P.L is granted a post-doctoral scholarship (DTI-A) from CNPq. SMBJ was supported by Ministério da Educação https://www.gov.br/mec/pt-br (UFRN Covid Task Force), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (440893/2016-0) and by JBS https://jbs.com.br/. E.S.S.S was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Paraíba – FAPESQ http://fapesq.rpp.br/ (003/2020) and Laboratórios de Campanha MCTI/FINEP (0494/20 - 01.20.0026.00). L.F.A.L was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior https://www.gov.br/capes/pt-br. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.