Multiple Introductions of SARS-CoV-2 C.37 Lambda lineage in the Southern Brazilian region.

The six Brazilian genomes, as analysed by the Nexclade algorithm (https://clades.nextstrain.org/), exhibited almost all the lineage's 30 synapomorphies.1 The N gene T366I substitution was not present in three SP sequences (EPI ISL 2674368, EPI ISL 1966094 and EPI ISL 1445272). Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; Lambda; South America; Brazil; C.37 EN SARS-CoV-2 Lambda South America Brazil C.37 1 3 3 01/05/22 20211201 NES 211201 The SARS-CoV-2 variant assigned to PangoLineage C.37 was first reported in late December 2020 in Peru and by April 2021 was responsible for 97% of new infections in that country.1 It is currently expanding in Chile and Argentina, and there is evidence of onward transmission in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, the USA, Germany and Israel.2 C.37 presents 30 molecular signatures, seven nonsynonymous substitutions (G75V, T76I, R246N, L452Q, F490S, D614G, T859N) and a deleted region ( 247-253) in the Spike protein.1 Another deleted region is found in the ORF1a gene ( 3675-3677) also present in variants of concern Alpha, Beta and Gamma.1 Due to genomic characteristics and epidemiological relevance, on 15 June 2021, WHO designated C.37 as Variant of Interest (VOI) Lambda.2 SP , sp SP . sp 3 Until 26 July 2021, six cases of C.37 were notified in Brazil, two in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and four in the southeastern state of São Paulo (SP). SARS-CoV-2, Lambda, South America, Brazil, C.37. [Extracted from the article]