<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/in-corona_haldi.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/in-corona_haldi.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/in-corona_haldi.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > Volunteers throw a mixture of water, neem herb and turmeric as a possible natural disinfectant on a street in a residential area in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on April 7, 2020. (Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images)

A new mutation in the novel coronavirus, which was found in India back in January 2020, has dealt a likely blow to the race towards a COVID-19 vaccine. Experts say that this mutation has the potential to undo the research done on this subject thus far, hindering the world's chances of successfully developing a vaccine.

Researchers from Taiwan and Australia, in their new study —one which is yet to be peer-reviewed—have identified a unique mutation in the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 sample that was collected from India on January 27, 2020.

This mutation leads to a “weaker receptor binding capability” in the novel coronavirus, which is proof that change has occurred in the part of the spike protein that allows the virus to bind with human cells.

As the novel coronavirus has been targeting this particular receptor cells named ACE2 in humans, scientists have so far been working on creating antibodies that target this specific receptors. But now, with the current mutation exhibiting varied binding, the entire research work done on this subject could possibly end up becoming useless.

“The observation of this study raised the alarm that Sars-CoV-2 mutation with varied epitope [something an antibody attaches itself to] profile could arise at any time,” Wei-Lung Wang from the National Changhua University of Education in Taiwan, and his collaborators from Murdoch University in Australia, wrote in a paper released on preprint review site biorxiv.org on Saturday, April 11.

“[This] means the current vaccine development against Sars-CoV-2 is at great risk of becoming futile,” they added, reports the South China Morning Post.

The mutant coronavirus the study refers to was first sampled by the National Institute of Virology from a patient in Kerala, India in January. The full genome sequence, however, was released to the international community last month—a delay that some researchers find quite surprising.

This mutant strain appears to be an outlier when compared to the variants seen in other countries; moreover, it isn’t closely related to any of the strains identified in Wuhan—the Chinese city where the COVID-19 outbreak originated from. The novel coronavirus has now spread to more than 200 countries and territories and scientists have reportedly identified around 3,500 mutations so far.

The SCMP report has quoted an unnamed researcher as saying that the findings of this study will need further verification, as there remains the possibility of the mutation being caused by a technical error during the sequencing process. There is also a chance of the results produced by the computer simulation being misleading.

But if the results are indeed accurate, they will simply create more uncertainty about the vaccines that are currently being developed—some of which are already in the clinical trial stages in China and the USA. And to add to the dilemma, if the novel coronavirus continues to constantly mutate, the vaccines, even after getting successfully developed, will need to be periodically tested and updated to ensure they continue working.

(With inputs from South China Morning Post)

**

For COVID-19, weather & air quality updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It's free!