Review of the Major SARS-COV-2 Mutations in Different Variants and Their Function

Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been a major concern since it first emerged. Prevention of Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) and slowing the epidemic and prevalence of the disease are the main goals of health institutions all over the world. it is very difficult to control the disease and predict its prevalence due to the continuous changes in the form of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and mutations in this virus. In fact, some changes and mutations in Corona 2019 virus directly affect the pathogenicity and its transmission. The most important mutations that occur in the spike or RBD part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, change the function of the virus, its severity of pathogenesis, and creates new variants. Mutations in these variants change the ability of the virus in binding to human cells, the rate of transmission, and make it easier to escape the immune system which plays a role in the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of vaccines. This study reviews eight major mutations in the spike or RBD region, their presence in different variants of Corona 2019 virus, and their relationship with response rate in infected people. Search keywords included COVID-19, mutation, variant, coronavirus, and respiratory infection in Google Scholar, PubMed, Springer, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases. The main variations made from SARS-CoV-2 are Alfa (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), and Delta (B.1.617.2) that cause the infection to spread faster and the adequacy of vaccination on these variations have not been conclusively analyzed at this point.