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

[摘要] 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.

[学科分类] 传染病学

[关键词] SARS-CoV-2;genome recombination;alpha variant;delta variant