< Back to previous page

Project

Assessing replicative fitness difference of SARS-CoV-2 circulating lineages (COV2ADAPT)

The unprecedented world-wide massive sequencing effort has generated nearly 100,000 publicly available whole genome viral sequences since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early genomic analyses have revealed the dynamic appearance and disappearance of slightly different SARS-CoV-2 variants. Apart from the D614G variant in the Spike protein, which has been attributed a higher
transmission efficiency, there are no studies yet that investigate the intrinsic cytopathic properties and replicative fitness of these circulating viral lineages. Here, we propose to recreate each of the important circulating lineages in an isogenic SARS-CoV-2 backbone and compare cytopathic effect, replication capacity and neutralization sensitivity in relation to epidemic spread and clinical disease.
Date:20 Oct 2020 →  20 Jul 2021
Project type:PhD project