Preliminary report on SARS-CoV-2 Spike mutation T478K

Several SARS-CoV-2 variants have emerged, posing a renewed threat to COVID-19 containment and to vaccine and drug efficacy. In this study, we analyzed more than 1,000,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences deposited up to April 27, 2021 on the GISAID public repository, and identified a novel T478K mutation located on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. The mutation is structurally located in the region of interaction with human receptor ACE2 and was detected in 11,435 distinct cases. We show that T478K has appeared and risen in frequency since January 2021, predominantly in Mexico and USA, but we could also detect it in several European countries.