Overview:

The receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein that recognizes the host ACE2 receptor is a major determinant of viral entry and neutralization, and is the most divergent region (1). N440K mutation in the RBD of the spike protein has been reported in viral sequences in India. Viruses harboring N440K mutation produce higher viral titers possibly leading to higher transmission rate (2). As these new variants displace the first-wave virus, it is pivotal to evaluate their transmissibility, virulence and their possible tendency to escape antibody neutralization (3).

Gene Aliases:

2019-nCoV RBD, SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD, novel coronavirus spike RBD, nCov spike RBD.

Genbank Number:

MN908947

References:

1. Lan J, et al: Crystal structure of the 2019-nCov spike receptor-binding domain bound with the ACE2 receptor. bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.19.956235. 2. Dixit T, et al: N440K variant of SARS-CoV-2 has Higher Infectious Fitness. biorRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.30.441434 3. Starr TN, et al: Molecular dynamic simulation reveals N440K mutation enhances spike RBD-ACE2 affinity and the combination of N440K, K417N and N501Y mutations (501Y.V2 variant) induces conformational change greater than N501Y mutant alone, potentially resulting in an escape mutant. Cell. 2020, 182(5):1295-1310.