High prevalence of an alpha variant lineage with a premature stop codon in ORF7a in Iraq, winter 2020–2021

What is it about?

The B.1.1.7 lineage was predominant in Iraq during the first quarter of 2021, and the phylogenetic analysis showed these strains circulated from Europe. In this study identified a notable frequency of a stop codon mutation in NS7a protein among the B.1.1.7 lineage sequences, but in silico analysis suggests that this mutation did not affect the protein's function. Overall, this study provides valuable information on the molecular epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Iraq, suggesting that the spread of variants is likely due to importation from Europe.

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Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Why is it important?

There is a significant underrepresentation of SARS-CoV-2 sequences from middle- and low-income countries in the global dataset. Therefore, surveying the molecular epidemiology/spatiotemporal changes in the SARS-CoV-2 genome and understanding its mutations are important.