Dynamic Expedition of Leading Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoproteins

Throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the continuous genomic evolution of its etiological agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has generated many new variants with enhanced transmissibility and immune escape capabilities. Being an essential mediator of infections and a key target of antibodies, mutations of its spike glycoprotein play a vital role in modulating its evolutionary trajectory. Here, we present a time-resolved statistical method, Dynamic Expedition of Leading Mutations (deLemus), to analyze the evolutionary dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 spike. Together with analysis of its single amino acid polymorphism (SAP), we propose the use ofL-index in quantifying the mutation strength of each amino acid site, such that the evolutionary mutation pattern of the spike glycoprotein can be unravelled.