What is the implication of the new strain having glycine instead of aspartic acid?
“What is the implication of the new strain having glycine instead of aspartic acid?”
Sequencing shows that this change resulted from a single base change. According to the paper this amino acid change increases the amount of virus produced in the lungs and makes the virus more infectious and easier to detect. In areas where the mutated form is present it out competes the original form and quickly takes over in the population. However it does not increase the severity of the disease.