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POSSIBLE MUTATION PATHWAYS IN SARS-CoV-2

MUHAMMAD TOREQUL ISLAM ¹, CRISTINA QUISPE ², JESÚS HERRERA-BRAVO ^3,4, ISHAQ N. KHAN ⁵, SAUD SALEM BAWAZEER ⁶, MANOJ KUMAR ⁷, NATÁLIA CRUZ-MARTINS ^8,9,10, MIQUEL MARTORELL ¹¹, ANCA OANA DOCEA ^12*, JAVAD SHARIFI-RAD ¹³, SEVGI DURNA DAŞTAN ^14,15, DOINA DRĂGĂNESCU ¹⁶, ANDREEA LETIȚIA ARSENE ¹⁷, DANIELA CĂLINA ¹⁸

1Department of Pharmacy, Life Science Faculty, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj (Dhaka) 8100, Bangladesh
² Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Arturo Prat, Avda. Arturo Prat 2120, Iquique, 1110939, Chile
³ Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Santo Tomas, Chile
⁴ Center of Molecular Biology and Pharmacogenetics, Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, 4811230, Chile
⁵ Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan
⁶ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 42, Saudi Arabia
⁷ Chemical and Biochemical Processing Division, ICAR – Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai400019, India
⁸ Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
⁹ Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
¹⁰ Institute of Research and Advanced Training in Health Sciences and Technologies (CESPU), Rua Central de Gandra, 1317, 4585-116 Gandra PRD, Portugal
¹¹ Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre for Healthy Living, University of Concepción, 4070386 Concepción, Chile
¹² Department of Toxicology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania
¹³ Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador
¹⁴ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, 58140, Sivas, Turkey
¹⁵ Beekeeping Development Application and Research Center, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, 58140, Sivas, Turkey
¹⁶ Department of Pharmaceutical Physics and Informatics, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020956, Bucharest, Romania
¹⁷ Department of General and Pharmaceutical Microbiology, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020956,
Bucharest, Romania
¹⁸ Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349, Craiova, Romania

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Mutations are the best way to generate genetic variation, as they provide the raw material in which evolutionary forces, like natural selection, can act. However, mutations are not always able to change the apparent behaviour of an organism, instead, they are capable of providing normal and abnormal biological functions. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has triggered a new and controversial biological scenario. Despite the hundreds of studies performed, to date, there is no specific treatment available. Several genomic and non-genomic mutations have been also reported, and due to its high genome size and mutation capacity, it can acclimatize to variable environments and has become the leading cause of high infection and mortality rates. This review outlines the possible pathways behind SARS-CoV-2 mutations.