Genomic surveillance of omicron B.1.1.529 SARS-CoV-2 and its variants between December 2021 and March 2023 in Tamil Nadu, India-A state-wide prospective longitudinal study

Selvavinayagam ST 1 , Suvaithenamudhan S 2 , Yong YK 3 , Hemashree K 1 , Rajeshkumar M 1 , Kumaresan A 1 Show all authors , Arthydevi P 1 , Kannan M 4 , Gopalan N 5 , Vignesh R 6 , Murugesan A 7 , Sivasankaran MP 8 , Sankar S 9 , Cheedarla N 10 , Anshad AR 2 , Govindaraj S 10 , Zhang Y 11 , Tan HY 3 , Larsson M 12 , Saravanan S 13 , Balakrishnan P 13 , Kulanthaivel L 14 , Singh K 15 , Joseph N 16 , Velu V 10 , Byrareddy SN 17 , Shankar EM 2 , Raju S 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 State Public Health Laboratory, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, DMS Campus, Teynampet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 2 Infection and Inflammation, Department of Biotechnology, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 3 Laboratory Centre, Xiamen University Malaysia, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 4 Blood and Vascular Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 5 Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 6 Preclinical Department, Faculty of Medicine, Royal College of Medicine Perak, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
  • 7 Department of Microbiology, The Government Theni Medical College and Hospital, Theni, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 8 Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA
  • 9 Department of Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Science, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 10 Division of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Emory National Primate Research Center, Emory Vaccine Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • 11 Kelip-kelip! Center of Excellence for Light Enabling Technologies, Xiamen University Malaysia, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 12 Division of Molecular Medicine and Virology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
  • 13 Center for Infectious Diseases, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 14 Department of Biomedical Science, Science Campus, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 15 Bond Life Sciences Center, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
  • 16 Department of Medical Microbiology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 17 Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
J Med Virol, 2024 Feb;96(2):e29456.
PMID: 38329187 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.29456

Abstract

A state-wide prospective longitudinal investigation of the genomic surveillance of the omicron B.1.1.529 SARS-CoV-2 variant and its sublineages in Tamil Nadu, India, was conducted between December 2021 and March 2023. The study aimed to elucidate their mutational patterns and their genetic interrelationship in the Indian population. The study identified several unique mutations at different time-points, which likely could attribute to the changing disease characteristics, transmission, and pathogenicity attributes of omicron variants. The study found that the omicron variant is highly competent in its mutating potentials, and that it continues to evolve in the general population, likely escaping from natural as well as vaccine-induced immune responses. Our findings suggest that continuous surveillance of viral variants at the global scenario is warranted to undertake intervention measures against potentially precarious SARS-CoV-2 variants and their evolution.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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