Timothée Bruel

Feb 14, 2023 | nature.com | Timothée Bruel |Françoise Porrot |Piet Maes |Nathalie Morel |Jérémy Dufloo |Rafael Sanjuán | +2 more

AbstractConvergent evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 lineages has led to the emergence of several new subvariants, including BA.2.75.2, BA.4.6. and BQ.1.1. The subvariant BQ.1.1 became predominant in many countries in December 2022. The subvariants carry an additional and often redundant set of mutations in the spike, likely responsible for increased transmissibility and immune evasion. Here, we established a viral amplification procedure to easily isolate Omicron strains.