A genomic diversity study of SARS-CoV-2 was conducted in the context of lifting the coronavirus restrictions and reopening Russia’s national borders. SARS-CoV-2 genovariants in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk oblasts and Perm krai were identified. A total of 1127 nasopharyngeal smears from patients with a new coronavirus infection treated in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk oblasts and Perm krai were studied by Sanger sequencing. The paper presents the dynamics of new coronavirus strains and its several mutations for the period from May to December 2022 using descriptive statistics. The study period was notable for Omicron predominance (~97%) with a greater number of amino acid mutations compared with that for the Delta and Alpha variants. The Omicron BA.2 subvariant prevailed during the study period from May to September and from October to December 2022, then BA.2 was displaced by BA.4/BA.5 subvariants. Molecular similarity analysis for assessment of SARS-CoV-2 showed the presence of atypical mutations at positions E484K, G485R, and R408I in some samples, as well as an increase in the number of mutations in variants, especially in the receptor-binding domain RBD. According to the literature, amino acid substitutions led to an S protein conformational alteration which, in turn, increased the affinity of RBD binding to ACE2 and resulted in a milder disease and higher contagiousness compared with earlier SARS-CoV-2 variants.

SARS-CoV-2 基因组多样性研究是在取消冠状病毒限制并重新开放俄罗斯国界的背景下进行的。在斯维尔德洛夫斯克州、车里雅宾斯克州和彼尔姆边疆区发现了 SARS-CoV-2 基因变异体。对斯维尔德洛夫斯克州、车里雅宾斯克州以及彼尔姆边疆区接受治疗的新型冠状病毒感染患者的总共1127份鼻咽涂片进行了桑格测序研究。该论文使用描述性统计数据介绍了2022年5月至12月期间新冠病毒毒株及其几种突变的动态。研究期间值得注意的是 Omicron 占主导地位 (~97%)，与 Delta 和 Alpha 变体相比，其氨基酸突变数量更多。在 2022 年 5 月至 9 月以及 10 月至 12 月的研究期间，Omicron BA.2 亚变体占主导地位，然后 BA.2 被 BA.4/BA.5 亚变体取代。用于评估 SARS-CoV-2 的分子相似性分析显示，一些样本中 E484K、G485R 和 R408I 位点存在非典型突变，并且变体中的突变数量有所增加，特别是在受体结合域 RBD 中。根据文献，氨基酸取代导致 S 蛋白构象改变，从而增加了 RBD 与 ACE2 结合的亲和力，与早期的 SARS-CoV-2 变体相比，导致病情更轻，传染性更高。