{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T04:13:16Z","timestamp":1785211996851,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,9]],"date-time":"2022-05-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1652054400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"French Ministry for Europe"},{"name":"Foreign Affairs (MEAE, France)"},{"name":"Africa CDC"},{"name":"Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>SARS-CoV-2 is constantly evolving with lineages emerging and others eclipsing. Some lineages have an important epidemiological impact and are known as variants of interest (VOIs), variants under monitoring (VUMs) or variants of concern (VOCs). Lineage A.27 was first defined as a VUM since it holds mutations of concern. Here, we report additional lineage A.27 data and sequences from five African countries and describe the molecular characteristics, and the genetic history of this lineage worldwide. Based on the new sequences investigated, the most recent ancestor (tMRCA) of lineage A.27 was estimated to be from April 2020 from Niger. It then spread to Europe and other parts of the world with a peak observed between February and April 2021. The detection rate of A.27 then decreased with only a few cases reported during summer 2021. The phylogenetic analysis revealed many sub-lineages. Among them, one was defined by the substitution Q677H in the spike (S) gene, one was defined by the substitution D358N in the nucleoprotein (N) gene and one was defined by the substitution A2143V in the ORF1b gene. This work highlights the importance of molecular characterization and the timely submission of sequences to correctly describe the circulation of particular strains in order to be proactive in monitoring the pandemic.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v14051007","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,10]],"date-time":"2022-05-10T23:39:36Z","timestamp":1652225976000},"page":"1007","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["SARS-CoV-2 Lineage A.27: New Data from African Countries and Dynamics in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5616-0204","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anissa","family":"Chouikha","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Clinical Virology, WHO Reference Laboratory for Poliomyelitis and Measles in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Pasteur Institute of Tunis, University Tunis El Manar (UTM), Tunis 1002, Tunisia"},{"name":"Reasearch Laboratory \u201cVirus, Vectors and Hosts: One Health Approach and Technological Innovation for a Better Health\u201d, LR20IPT02, Pasteur Institute, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adamou","family":"Lagare","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre de Recherche M\u00e9dicale et Sanitaire (CERMES), BP: 10887\u2014634 Bd de la Nation, Niamey YN034, Niger"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3387-6493","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kais","family":"Ghedira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Biomathematics and Biostatistics (BIMS), Institut Pasteur de Tunis (IPT), 13, Place Pasteur BP 74, University of Tunis-El Manar, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8584-9972","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amadou","family":"Diallo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Pasteur Dakar, 36 Avenue Pasteur, Dakar BP 220, Senegal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Richard","family":"Njouom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre Pasteur of Cameroon, Centre Pasteur of Cameroon, 451 rue 2005, Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Safietou","family":"Sankhe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Pasteur Dakar, 36 Avenue Pasteur, Dakar BP 220, Senegal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fawzi","family":"Derrar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Pasteur d\u2019Alg\u00e9rie, 01 Rue du Petite Staou\u00e9li, D\u00e9ly-Brahim, Algiers 16047, Algeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kathleen","family":"Victoir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Pasteur, Direction Internationale, P\u00f4le Coop\u00e9ration Scientifique, 25 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Koussay","family":"Dellagi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pasteur Network Association, Institut Pasteur 25 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Henda","family":"Triki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Clinical Virology, WHO Reference Laboratory for Poliomyelitis and Measles in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Pasteur Institute of Tunis, University Tunis El Manar (UTM), Tunis 1002, Tunisia"},{"name":"Reasearch Laboratory \u201cVirus, Vectors and Hosts: One Health Approach and Technological Innovation for a Better Health\u201d, LR20IPT02, Pasteur Institute, Tunis 1002, Tunisia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5461-5623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Moussa Moise","family":"Diagne","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut Pasteur Dakar, 36 Avenue Pasteur, Dakar BP 220, Senegal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"m4857","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.m4857","article-title":"COVID-19: New coronavirus variant is identified in UK","volume":"371","author":"Wise","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2021, November 12). 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