Spike deep mutational scanning helps predict success of SARS-CoV-2 clades.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 variants acquire mutations in the spike protein that promote immune evasion¹ and affect other properties that contribute to viral fitness, such as ACE2 receptor binding and cell entry^2,3. Knowledge of how mutations affect these spike phenotypes can provide insight into the current and potential future evolution of the virus. Here we use pseudovirus deep mutational scanning⁴ to measure how more than 9,000 mutations across the full XBB.1.5 and BA.2 spikes affect ACE2 binding, cell entry or escape from human sera. We find that mutations outside the receptor-binding domain (RBD) have meaningfully affected ACE2 binding during SARS-CoV-2 evolution. We also measure how mutations to the XBB.1.5 spike affect neutralization by serum from individuals who recently had SARS-CoV-2 infections. The strongest serum escape mutations are in the RBD at sites 357, 420, 440, 456 and 473; however, the antigenic effects of these mutations vary across individuals. We also identify strong escape mutations outside the RBD; however, many of them decrease ACE2 binding, suggesting they act by modulating RBD conformation. Notably, the growth rates of human SARS-CoV-2 clades can be explained in substantial part by the measured effects of mutations on spike phenotypes, suggesting our data could enable better prediction of viral evolution.