Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2: virus mutations in specific European populations
Frédérique Coppée, Jérôme R. Lechien, Anne‐Émilie Declèves, Lionel Tafforeau, Sven Saussez
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is being intensively studied, particularly its evolution, in the increasingly available sequences between countries/continents with classical phylogenetic tree representation. More recently, certain protein mutations have been correlated with specific functional impacts. Our clinical data from patients suggest that clinical symptoms differ between European countries. Among other factors, SARS-CoV-2 mutations could explain these disparities. Our analyses point to an association of diverse mutations, including co-evolving ones, in a few SARS-CoV-2 proteins within specific countries. We therefore suggest combining clinical information from patients and the determination of the associated SARS-CoV-2 genome to better understand the specific symptoms.