{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,23]],"date-time":"2026-02-23T10:27:16Z","timestamp":1771842436735,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]],"date-time":"2021-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1623628800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000060","name":"National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["HHSN272201400006C"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HHSN272201400006C"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000060","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"National Council for Scientific Research \u2013 Lebanon","award":["CNRS-849"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CNRS-849"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has seen a worldwide spread since its emergence in 2019, including to Lebanon, where 534,968 confirmed cases (8% of the population) and 7569 deaths have been reported as of 14 May 2021. With the genome sequencing of strains from various countries, several classification systems were established via genome comparison. For instance, the GISAID clades classification highlights key mutations in the encoded proteins that could potentially affect the virus\u2019 infectivity and transmission rates. In this study, 58 genomes of Lebanese SARS-CoV-2 strains were analyzed, 28 of which were sequenced for this study, and 30 retrieved from the GISAID and GenBank databases. We aimed to classify these strains, establish their phylogenetic relationships, and extract the mutations causing amino acid substitutions within, particularly, the structural proteins. The sequenced Lebanese SARS-COV-2 strains were classified into four GISAID clades and 11 Pango lineages. Moreover, 21 uncommon mutations in the structural proteins were found in the newly sequenced strains, underlining interesting combinations of mutations in the spike proteins. Hence, this study constitutes an observation and description of the current SARS-CoV-2 genetic and clade situation in Lebanon according to the available sequenced strains.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biology10060531","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]],"date-time":"2021-06-14T10:30:25Z","timestamp":1623666625000},"page":"531","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Lebanon: Evolution and Current Situation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Nancy","family":"Fayad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University, P.O. Box 36, Byblos, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Walid","family":"Abi Habib","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University, P.O. Box 36, Byblos, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3253-6961","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmed","family":"Kandeil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Viruses, National Research Centre, Giza 12622, Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8798-2240","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rabeh","family":"El-Shesheny","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Viruses, National Research Centre, Giza 12622, Egypt"},{"name":"St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mina Nabil","family":"Kamel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Scientific Excellence for Influenza Viruses, National Research Centre, Giza 12622, Egypt"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Youmna","family":"Mourad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Al Hadi Laboratory and IVF Center, P.O. Box 44, Beirut, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jacques","family":"Mokhbat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, P.O. Box 36, Byblos, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ghazi","family":"Kayali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Human Link, Dubai 971, United Arab Emirates"},{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas, Houston, TX 77030, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jimi","family":"Goldstein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Human Link, Dubai 971, United Arab Emirates"},{"name":"School of Engineering and Technology, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5267-4953","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jad","family":"Abdallah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University, P.O. Box 36, Byblos, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e28","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jinf.2020.03.010","article-title":"Emergence of SARS-like coronavirus in China: An update","volume":"80","author":"Zhang","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Infect."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2021, May 05). WHO Director General\u2019s Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19. 11 March 2020. Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/director-general\/speeches\/detail\/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Siddiqui, A.J., Jahan, S., Ashraf, S.A., Alreshidi, M., Ashraf, M.S., Patel, M., Snoussi, M., Singh, R., and Adnan, M. (2020). 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