@article{3034768,
    title = "From delta to Omicron: S1-RBD/S2 mutation/deletion equilibrium in
SARS-CoV-2 defined variants",
    author = "Papanikolaou, Vasileios and Chrysovergis, Aris and Ragos, Vasileios and and Tsiambas, Evangelos and Katsinis, Spyros and Manoli, Arezina and and Papouliakos, Sotirios and Roukas, Dimitrios and Mastronikolis, Stylianos and and Peschos, Dimitrios and Batistatou, Anna and Kyrodimos, Efthimios and and Mastronikolis, Nicholas",
    journal = "Gene and Gene Editing",
    year = "2022",
    volume = "814",
    publisher = "Elsevier",
    issn = "2376-3949, 2376-3957",
    doi = "10.1016/j.gene.2021.146134",
    keywords = "SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; Variants; Mutations; RNA; Genome",
    abstract = "Coronavirus-related Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) in
2002/2003, Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) in 2012/2013, and
especially the current 2019/2021 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-2
(SARS-CoV-2) affected negatively the national health systems’ endurance
worldwide. SARS-Cov-2 virus belongs to lineage b of beta-CoVs
demonstrating a strong phylogenetic similarity with BatCoVRaTG13 type.
Spike (S) glycoprotein projections -consisting of two subunits S1/S2-
provide a unique crown-like formation (corona) on virion’s surface.
Concerning their functional role, S1 represents the main
receptor-binding domain (RBD), whereas S2 is involved in the virus-cell
membrane fusion mechanism. On Nov 26th 2021, WHO designated the new
SARS-CoV-2 strain - named Omicron, from letter “” in the Greek
alphabet - as a variant of concern (B.1.1529 variant). Potentially this
new variant is associated with high transmissibility leading to elevated
infectivity and probably increased re-infection rates. Its impact on
morbidity/mortality remains under investigation. In the current paper,
analyzing and comparing the alterations of SARS-CoV-2 S RNA sequences in
the defined variants (Alpha to Omicron), we observed some interesting
findings regarding the S1-RBD/S2 mutation/deletion equilibrium that
maybe affect and modify its activity."
}