Computational investigation reveals that the mutant strains of SARS-CoV2 are highly infectious than wildtype

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Abstract

Remarkable infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) is due to the rapid emergence of various strains, thus enable the virus to rule the world. Over the course of SARS-CoV2 pandemic, the scientific communities worldwide are responding to newly emerging genetic variants. However, the mechanism behind the persistent infection of these variants is still not known due to the paucity of study of these variants at molecular level. In this scenario, computational methods have immense utility in understanding the molecular and functional properties of different variants. Therefore, in this study various mutants (MTs) of SpikeS1 receptor binding domain (RBD) of highly infectious SARS-CoV2 strains were carried and elucidated the protein structure and dynamics using molecular dynamics (MD) approach. MD simulation study showed that all MTs exhibited stable structures with altered functional properties. Furthermore, the binding strength of different MTs along with WT (wildtype) was revealed through protein-protein docking and observed that MTs showed high binding affinities than WT. Hence, this study shed light on the molecular basis of infection caused by different variants of SARS-CoV2, which might play an important role in to cease the transmission and pathogenesis of virus and also implicate in rational designing of a specific drug.

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  1. SciScore for 10.1101/2021.04.23.441125: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    NIH rigor criteria are not applicable to paper type.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    The structure was prepared in PyMOL (The PyMOL Molecular Graphics System, Version 1.3 Schrodinger, LLC) and all other structures except RBD were excluded.
    PyMOL
    suggested: (PyMOL, RRID:SCR_000305)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    However, certain limitations are associated with the current computational study, which may be overcome by experimental methods. Therefore, experimental methods are highly urged to support or validate the findings of the current research. Nevertheless, our study provides computational evidence of the strength of highly infectious strains, which would help in design a more specific drug to combat the current pandemic.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.


    Results from Barzooka: We found bar graphs of continuous data. We recommend replacing bar graphs with more informative graphics, as many different datasets can lead to the same bar graph. The actual data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. For more information, please see Weissgerber et al (2015).


    Results from JetFighter: Please consider improving the rainbow (“jet”) colormap(s) used on page 29. At least one figure is not accessible to readers with colorblindness and/or is not true to the data, i.e. not perceptually uniform.


    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No funding statement was detected.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.