AUTHOR=Ford Colby T. , Jacob Machado Denis , Janies Daniel A. 

TITLE=Predictions of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant (B.1.1.529) Spike Protein Receptor-Binding Domain Structure and Neutralizing Antibody Interactions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Virology

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/virology/articles/10.3389/fviro.2022.830202

DOI=10.3389/fviro.2022.830202

ISSN=2673-818X

ABSTRACT=<p>The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) was released on November 22, 2021, which has caused a flurry of media attention due the large number of mutations it contains. These raw data have spurred questions around vaccine efficacy. Given that neither the structural information nor the experimentally-derived antibody interaction of this variant are available, we have turned to predictive computational methods to model the mutated structure of the spike protein's receptor binding domain and posit potential changes to vaccine efficacy. In this study, we predict some structural changes in the receptor-binding domain that may reduce antibody interaction without completely evading existing neutralizing antibodies (and therefore current vaccines).</p>