Now, coronavirus UK strain shows concerning mutation: What you need to know

 While all mutations found in emerging variants of coronavirus should be monitored, scientists are particularly interested in mutations occurring in its spike protein, specifically the RBD section

If there’s one coronavirus mutation that keeps scientists awake at night, it’s E484K. The mutation was found in both the South African variant (B1351) and the Brazilian variant (P1), but not in the UK variant (B117). This so-called “escape mutation” raised fears that the approved COVID vaccines may not be as effective against these variants. The E484K mutation has now been found in the UK variant as well – albeit in just 11 cases.

The coronavirus mutates slowly, accumulating around two single-letter mutations per month in its genome. This rate of change is about half that of flu viruses. Early in the pandemic, few scientists were worried that the coronavirus would mutate into something more dangerous. But in November 2020, that swiftly changed when the first “variant of concern” was discovered. The newly discovered variant B117 was associated with the huge spike in cases in south-east England and London.

Receptor-binding domain
While all mutations found in emerging variants of coronavirus should be monitored, scientists are particularly interested in mutations occurring in the virus’s spike protein, specifically the receptor-binding domain (RBD) section of the spike protein. This section of the virus latches onto our cells and initiates infection. Mutations in the RBD can help the virus bind more tightly to our cells, making it more infectious.

The immunity we develop to the coronavirus, following vaccination or infection, is largely due to the development of antibodies that bind to the RBD. Mutations in this region can allow the virus to evade or partially evade these antibodies. This is the reason they are called “escape mutations”. E484K is one such mutation.