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Polymorphism and Selection Pressure of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine and Diagnostic Antigens: Implications for Immune Evasion and Serologic Diagnostic Performance

Department of Tropical Medicine, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and Vector-Borne and Infectious Disease Research Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
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Pathogens 2020, 9(7), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9070584
Received: 22 June 2020 / Revised: 15 July 2020 / Accepted: 15 July 2020 / Published: 17 July 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Human Pathogens)
The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has triggered multiple efforts for serological tests and vaccine development. Most of these tests and vaccines are based on the Spike glycoprotein (S) or the Nucleocapsid (N) viral protein. Conservation of these antigens among viral strains is critical to ensure optimum diagnostic test performance and broad protective efficacy, respectively. We assessed N and S antigen diversity from 17,853 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences and evaluated selection pressure. Up to 6–7 incipient phylogenetic clades were identified for both antigens, confirming early variants of the S antigen and identifying new ones. Significant diversifying selection was detected at multiple sites for both antigens. Some sequence variants have already spread in multiple regions, in spite of their low frequency. In conclusion, the N and S antigens of SARS-CoV-2 are well-conserved antigens, but new clades are emerging and may need to be included in future diagnostic and vaccine formulations. View Full-Text
Keywords: antigenic drift; diversifying selection; coronavirus; immune evasion; diversity antigenic drift; diversifying selection; coronavirus; immune evasion; diversity
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MDPI and ACS Style

Dumonteil, E.; Herrera, C. Polymorphism and Selection Pressure of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine and Diagnostic Antigens: Implications for Immune Evasion and Serologic Diagnostic Performance. Pathogens 2020, 9, 584. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9070584

AMA Style

Dumonteil E, Herrera C. Polymorphism and Selection Pressure of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine and Diagnostic Antigens: Implications for Immune Evasion and Serologic Diagnostic Performance. Pathogens. 2020; 9(7):584. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9070584

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dumonteil, Eric, and Claudia Herrera. 2020. "Polymorphism and Selection Pressure of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine and Diagnostic Antigens: Implications for Immune Evasion and Serologic Diagnostic Performance" Pathogens 9, no. 7: 584. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9070584

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