Genome Recombination between the Delta and Alpha Variants of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 415 - 418
• Main Authors: Sekizuka, Tsuyoshi, Itokawa, Kentaro, Saito, Masumichi, Shimatani, Michitsugu, Matsuyama, Shutoku, Hasegawa, Hideki, Saito, Tomoya, Kuroda, Makoto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases Editorial Committee 31.07.2022; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: alpha variant; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; delta variant; Genetic diversity; genome recombination; Infectivity; Recombination; Respiratory diseases; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike protein; Alpha variant; SARS-CoV-2; Delta variant; Genome recombination
• ISSN: 1344-6304; 1884-2836; 1884-2836
• DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID.2021.844

Prominent genomic recombination has been observed between the Delta and Alpha variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), isolated from clinical specimens in Japan. Interestingly, the recombination variant detected in this study carries a spike protein identical to that in the domestic Delta variant, thereby suggesting that further risks would not be associated with infectivity and immune escape. The recombinant was classified as an XC lineage in the PANGOLIN database. It is necessary to intensively study such marked genetic variations and characterize emerging variants after careful verification of their lineage and clade assignment.