Isolation and characterization of a SARS-CoV-2 variant with a Q677H mutation in the spike protein

Xiaoyu Niu; Jiayu Xu; Mingde Liu; Huolin Tu; Sara N Koenig; Linda J Saif; Daniel M Jones; Qiuhong Wang

doi:10.1007/s00705-022-05621-5

Isolation and characterization of a SARS-CoV-2 variant with a Q677H mutation in the spike protein

Arch Virol. 2022 Dec 20;168(1):5. doi: 10.1007/s00705-022-05621-5.

Authors

Xiaoyu Niu^{1

2

3}, Jiayu Xu^{1

2}, Mingde Liu^{1

2}, Huolin Tu⁴, Sara N Koenig^{5

6}, Linda J Saif^{1

2}, Daniel M Jones^{7

8

9}, Qiuhong Wang^{10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
² Center for Food Animal Health, Department of Animal Sciences, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516, USA.
⁴ James Molecular Laboratory at Polaris, The Ohio State University James Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁵ Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and Frick Center for Heart Failure and Arrhythmia Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
⁶ Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
⁷ James Molecular Laboratory at Polaris, The Ohio State University James Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA. Daniel.Jones@osumc.edu.
⁸ Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA. Daniel.Jones@osumc.edu.
⁹ The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University James Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA. Daniel.Jones@osumc.edu.
¹⁰ Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. wang.655@osu.edu.
¹¹ Center for Food Animal Health, Department of Animal Sciences, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA. wang.655@osu.edu.

Abstract

We isolated 20 SARS-CoV-2 strains from positive clinical samples collected in Columbus, Ohio, and investigated the replication of one pair of isolates: a clade 20G strain and a variant of this strain carrying a Q677H mutation in the spike protein and six other amino acid mutations. The OSU.20G variant replicated to a higher peak infectious titer than the 20G base strain in Vero-E6 cells, but the titers were similar when both strains were grown in Calu-3 cells. These results suggest that the OSU.20G variant has increased replication fitness compared to the 20G base strain. This may have contributed to its emergence in December 2020-January 2021.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Humans
Mutation
SARS-CoV-2 / genetics
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus / genetics

Substances

spike protein, SARS-CoV-2
Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus

Supplementary concepts

SARS-CoV-2 variants

Grants and funding

Targeted Investments award/Institute of Infectious Diseases of The Ohio State University