Circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants in Italy, October 2020-March 2021

Alessia Lai; Annalisa Bergna; Stefano Menzo; Gianguglielmo Zehender; Sara Caucci; Valeria Ghisetti; Francesca Rizzo; Fabrizio Maggi; Francesco Cerutti; Giorgio Giurato; Alessandro Weisz; Chiara Turchi; Bianca Bruzzone; Francesca Ceccherini Silberstein; Nicola Clementi; Annapaola Callegaro; Fabio Sagradi; Daniela Francisci; Emmanuele Venanzi Rullo; Ilaria Vicenti; Massimo Clementi; Massimo Galli; collaborative group SCIRE SARS-CoV-2 Italian Research Enterprise

doi:10.1186/s12985-021-01638-5

Circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants in Italy, October 2020-March 2021

Virol J. 2021 Aug 14;18(1):168. doi: 10.1186/s12985-021-01638-5.

Authors

Alessia Lai^#¹, Annalisa Bergna^#², Stefano Menzo³, Gianguglielmo Zehender², Sara Caucci³, Valeria Ghisetti⁴, Francesca Rizzo⁵, Fabrizio Maggi^{6

7}, Francesco Cerutti⁴, Giorgio Giurato⁵, Alessandro Weisz^{5

8}, Chiara Turchi³, Bianca Bruzzone⁹, Francesca Ceccherini Silberstein¹⁰, Nicola Clementi¹¹, Annapaola Callegaro¹², Fabio Sagradi¹³, Daniela Francisci¹⁴, Emmanuele Venanzi Rullo¹⁵, Ilaria Vicenti¹⁶, Massimo Clementi¹¹, Massimo Galli²; collaborative group SCIRE SARS-CoV-2 Italian Research Enterprise

Collaborators

collaborative group SCIRE SARS-CoV-2 Italian Research Enterprise:
Claudia Balotta, Maria Gori, Patrizia Bagnarelli, Andreina Baj, Federica Novazzi, Andrea Orsi, Patrizia Caligiuri, Simona Boccotti, Maria Concetta Bellocchi, Loredana Sarmati, Massimo Andreoni, Nicasio Mancini, Elena Criscuolo, Rosa Gallitelli, Sophie Testa, Filippo Dragoni, Maurizio Zazzi

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Luigi Sacco, University of Milan, Via G.B. Grassi 74, 20157, Milan, Italy. alessia.lai@unimi.it.
² Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Luigi Sacco, University of Milan, Via G.B. Grassi 74, 20157, Milan, Italy.
³ Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Virology Unit, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy.
⁴ Microbiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory, "Amedeo di Savoia" Hospital, Turin, Italy.
⁵ Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry 'Scuola Medica Salernitana' and Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Genomics, University of Salerno, Baronissi, Italy.
⁶ Laboratory of Microbiology, ASST Sette Laghi, Varese, Italy.
⁷ Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
⁸ Genome Research Center for Health, Baronissi, Italy.
⁹ Hygiene Unit, San Martino Policlinico Hospital - IRCCS for Oncology and Neurosciences, Genoa, Italy.
¹⁰ Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
¹¹ Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology, Università "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
¹² Biobank Unit and Microbiology and Virology Laboratory, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy.
¹³ Haemostasis and Thrombosis Center, A.S.S.T. Cremona, Cremona, Italy.
¹⁴ Department of Medicine and Surgery, Clinic of Infectious Diseases, "Santa Maria della Misericordia" Hospital, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
¹⁵ Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Unit of Infectious Diseases, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
¹⁶ Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

A growing number of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants is being identified worldwide, potentially impacting the effectiveness of current vaccines. We report the data obtained in several Italian regions involved in the SARS-CoV-2 variant monitoring from the beginning of the epidemic and spanning the period from October 2020 to March 2021.

Keywords: COVID-19 RT-PCR testing; Complete genome sequencing; SARS-CoV-2 virus; Spike protein; Viral variants.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19 / epidemiology*
COVID-19 / virology
Epidemics*
Humans
Italy / epidemiology
Prevalence
SARS-CoV-2 / genetics*