SARS-CoV2 spike protein gene variants with N501T and G142D mutation–dominated infections in mink in the United States
Hugh Y. Cai, Allison Cai
Abstract
Large numbers of mink have been infected with SARS-CoV2 containing the spike protein Y453F mutation in Europe, causing zoonosis concerns. To evaluate the genetic characteristics of the U.S. and Canadian mink-derived SARS-CoV2 sequences, we analyzed all animal-derived (977) and all Canadian (19,529) and U.S. (173,277) SARS-CoV2 sequences deposited in GISAID from December 2019 to March 12, 2021, and identified 2 dominant novel variants, the N501T-G142D variant and N501T-G142D-F486L variant, in the U.S. mink-derived SARS-CoV2 sequences. These variants were not found in mink from Canada or other countries. The Y453F mutation was not identified in the mink-derived sequences in the United States and Canada. The N501T mutation occurred 2 mo earlier in humans than in mink in the United States, and the novel N501T-G142D and N501T-G142D-F486L variants were found in humans prior to mink. Our results suggest that the novel SARS-CoV2 variants may have evolved during human infection and were then transmitted to mink populations in the United States.