D614G is known to give a fitness advantage to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a phylogenic analysis was done on 553 MENA sequences. In the 553 sequences, the S gene mutations were found to be D614G=435, Q677H=8, and V6F=5. This shows a vast increase in the D614G mutations, from 63.0% in February, 2020 to 98.5% in June, 2020. Large clusters of Bayesian analyses determined the average evolutionary rate for SARS-CoV-2 to be about 6.5 x 10-3 substitutions/site/year in MENA.

University of California, Davis

Occurence of mutations of SARS-CoV-2 by Region

Sallam, M., Ababneh, N., Dababseh, D., Bakri, F., & Mahafzah, A. (2020). Temporal increase in D614G mutation of SARS-CoV-2 in the Middle East and North Africa: Phylogenetic and mutation analysis study. doi:10.1101/2020.08.24.20176792

Temporal increase in D614G mutation of SARS-CoV-2 in the Middle East and North Africa: Phylogenetic and mutation analysis study

A mutation in an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is important to note because of its major role in viral replication and transcription, leading to its tendency to be used as a target in antiviral treatment. A study found two different types of mutations in an RdRp of SARS-CoV-2. One is a silent mutation found in the UK on February 9th, 2020, while a different mutation was first reported in Italy on February 20th, 2020. Since the introduction of a mutation of RdRp in Italy, there was an increase in the number of mutations of the virus in the region. By dividing genomes into two groups: one group with the RdRp mutation and one without, it was shown that the group with the RdRp mutation showed a higher frequency of mutations compared to the group without the RdRp mutation. 

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