Paired associated SARS-CoV-2 spike variable positions: a network analysis approach to emerging variants.

ABSTRACT: Amino acids in variable positions of proteins may be correlated, with potential structural and functional implications. Here, we apply exact tests of independence in R × C contingency tables to examine noise-free associations between variable positions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, using as a paradigm sequences from Greece deposited in GISAID (N = 6,683/1,078 full length) for the period 29 February 2020 to 26 April 2021 that essentially covers the first three pandemic waves. We examine the fate and complexity of these associations by network analysis, using associated positions (exact P ≤ 0.001 and Average Product Correction ≥ 2) as links and the corresponding positions as nodes. We found a temporal linear increase of positional differences and a gradual expansion of the n

SUBMITTER: Manoussopoulos Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10469592 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature