Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

June 11, 2021

SARS-CoV2 Spike Protein Gene Variants with N501T and G142D Mutation-Dominated Infections in Mink in the United States

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  • An analysis of SARS-CoV-2 sequences isolated from farmed mink populations (N=977) and human infections in the US and Canada (N=192,806) from December 2019-March 2021 revealed that the N501T mutation was found in humans two months prior to being detected in mink populations. However, in contrast to the N501Y mutation, which is present in the B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), and P.1 (Gamma) variants and has been associated with higher transmissibility, the N501T mutation was not found to be associated with higher levels of transmission. The authors suggest that these results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 variants may have evolved in humans prior to being detected in mink populations.

Cai and Cai. (June 2021). SARS-CoV2 Spike Protein Gene Variants with N501T and G142D Mutation-Dominated Infections in Mink in the United States. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation: Official Publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1177/10406387211023481