Evolution and viral properties of the SARS-CoV-2 BA.3.2 subvariant - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #Omicron subvariants
- #SARS-CoV-2
- #viral evolution
- BA.3.2 is an Omicron subvariant descending from BA.3 with 39 spike mutations, emerging two years after BA.3 ceased circulation.
- It likely originated in Southern Africa, similar to BA.2.86, and shows low but persistent global circulation.
- BA.3.2 has an 871 bp deletion that removes ORF7 and ORF8, and in cell culture, it exhibits lower cytotoxicity than ancestral SARS-CoV-2 but similar replication to the co-circulating LP.8.1 subvariant.
- It shows complete neutralization escape from pre-Omicron plasma, low neutralization by 2024 plasma, and higher neutralization by 2025 plasma, with BA.3.2 being moderately less neutralized than LP.8.1.
- The emergence of such long-branch subvariants without intermediates suggests unmonitored persistent infections drive large evolutionary shifts in SARS-CoV-2.