Title:
COVID-19 CG: Tracking SARS-CoV-2 mutations by locations and dates of interest
Authors:
Albert Tian Chen, Kevin Altschuler, Shing Hei Zhan, Yujia Alina Chan & Benjamin E Deverman
Published:
bioRxiv, 24 September 2020
[Keep in mind that this article is a preprint and not yet peer reviewed.]
Abstract:
COVID-19 CG is an open resource for tracking SARS-CoV-2 single-nucleotide variations (SNVs) and lineages while filtering by location, date, gene, and mutation of interest. COVID-19 CG provides significant time, labor, and cost-saving utility to diverse projects on SARS-CoV-2 transmission, evolution, emergence, immune interactions, diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, and intervention tracking. Here, we describe case studies in which users can interrogate (1) SNVs in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor binding domain (RBD) across different geographic regions to inform the design and testing of therapeutics, (2) SNVs that may impact the sensitivity of commonly used diagnostic primers, and (3) the recent emergence of a dominant lineage harboring an S477N RBD mutation in Australia. To accelerate COVID-19 research and public health efforts, COVID-19 CG will be continually upgraded with new features for users to quickly and reliably pinpoint mutations as the virus evolves throughout the pandemic and in response to therapeutic and public health interventions.