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Review
. 2024 Aug 5;12(8):887.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines12080887.

Subsequent Waves of Convergent Evolution in SARS-CoV-2 Genes and Proteins

Daniele Focosi  1 , Pietro Giorgio Spezia  2 , Fabrizio Maggi  2
Affiliations
Review

Subsequent Waves of Convergent Evolution in SARS-CoV-2 Genes and Proteins

Daniele Focosi et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Beginning in 2022, following widespread infection and vaccination among the global population, the SARS-CoV-2 virus mainly evolved to evade immunity derived from vaccines and past infections. This review covers the convergent evolution of structural, nonstructural, and accessory proteins in SARS-CoV-2, with a specific look at common mutations found in long-lasting infections that hint at the virus potentially reverting to an enteric sarbecovirus type.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Spike; evolution.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of RBD Spike protein mutation fixation across SARS-CoV-2 VOCs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of convergent evolution of Spike protein in XBB.* sublineages.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Convergent evolution in FLip’s mutations, adapted from ref. [46].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Summary of convergent evolution of Spike protein in JN.1* sublineages.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The trends towards declining fold-enhancement in infectivity with TMPRSS2-cleaved ACE2 in time. Sourced from ref. [41].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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