Open AccessShared Mutations in Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Circulating Variants May Lead to Reverse Transcription-PCR (RT-PCR)-Based Misidentification of B.1.351 and P.1 Variants of Concern
Author(s) -
Carmen Losada,
Carla Rico-Luna,
Álvaro Otero-Sobrino,
Andrea MoleroSalinas,
Sergio BuenestadoSerrano,
Ana Candela,
Laura PérezLago,
Patricia Muñóz,
Pilar Catalán,
Darı́o Garcı́a de Viedma
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
microbiology spectrum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.502
H-Index - 51
ISSN - 2165-0497
DOI - 10.1128/spectrum.00816-21
Subject(s) - biology , reverse transcriptase , genetics , covid-19 , genome , computational biology , reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction , gene , virology , polymerase chain reaction , medicine , messenger rna , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Reverse transcription-PCRs (RT-PCRs) targeting SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC) mutations have been developed to simplify their tracking. We evaluated an assay targeting E484K/N501Y to identify B.1.351/P1. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) confirmed only 72 (59.02%) of 122 consecutive RT-PCR P.1/B.1.351 candidates. Prescreening RT-PCRs must target a wider set of mutations, updated from WGS data from emerging variants.