SARS-CoV-2 Iota variant

Last updated January 12, 2026

Iota variant,^[1] also known as lineage B.1.526, is one of the variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in New York City in November 2020. The variant has appeared with two notable mutations: the E484K spike mutation, which may help the virus evade antibodies, and the S477N mutation, which helps the virus bind more tightly to human cells.^[2]

Mutations

The Iota (B.1.526) genome contains the following amino-acid mutations, all of which are in the virus's spike protein code: L5F, T95I, D253G, E484K, D614G and A701V.^[8]

Amino acid mutations of SARS-CoV-2 Iota variant plotted on a genome map of SARS-CoV-2 with a focus on the spike.^[9]

History

The increase of the Iota variant was captured by researchers at Caltech by scanning for mutations in a database known as GISAID, a global science initiative that has documented over 700,000 genomic sequences of SARS-CoV-2.^[10]^[11]

The proportion of USA cases represented by the Iota variant had declined sharply by the end of July 2021 as the Delta variant became dominant.^[12]

Statistics

Cases by country (Updated as of 16 January 2024) GISAID^[13]
Country	Confirmed cases	Last Reported Case
USA	45,985	24 June 2021
Ecuador	168	10 June 2021
Canada	158
Spain	119	17 June 2021
Colombia	115	24 May 2021
Aruba	103	10 June 2021
Germany	56	22 June 2021
Mexico	50	11 June 2021
United Kingdom	43	16 May 2021
Sint Maarten	17	27 May 2021
Ireland	13	7 May 2021
Switzerland	12	17 May 2021
Chile	11	12 May 2021
Denmark	9	31 May 2021
Israel	9	26 April 2021
Suriname	9	10 May 2021
Argentina	8	26 April 2021
Belgium	8	18 April 2021
Dominican Republic	8	10 June 2021
France	8	25 May 2021
Lithuania	8	28 May 2021
Singapore	7	4 April 2021
Australia	6	21 May 2021
Italy	6	4 May 2021
Luxembourg	6	5 March 2021
Costa Rica	5	21 May 2021
Netherlands	5	19 April 2021
Russia	5	4 June 2021
Croatia	4	9 February 2021
Japan	4	7 May 2021
South Korea	4	14 April 2021
Sweden	4	14 May 2021
Turkey	4	4 May 2021
Malta	4	21 December 2020
India	3	24 March 2021
Dominica	3	15 January 2021
Slovenia	3	18 May 2021
Austria	2	22 April 2021
Ghana	2	20 March 2021
Grenada	2	17 January 2021
Indonesia	2	8 January 2021
Jamaica	2	2 February 2021
Liberia	2	14 May 2021
Portugal	2	4 March 2021
Romania	2	17 April 2021
Anguilla	1	21 April 2021
Antigua and Barbuda	1	3 May 2021
British Virgin Islands	1	25 January 2021
Cayman Islands	1	15 April 2021
China	1
Curacao	1	30 April 2021
Finland	1	14 March 2021
Guadeloupe	1	9 March 2021
New Zealand	1	16 March 2021
Poland	1	31 March 2021
Turks and Caicos Islands	1	22 March 2021
Venezuela	1	8 May 2021
World (57 countries)	Total: 46,589	Total as of 11 August 2021

References

↑ "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
↑ Barton, Michael I; MacGowan, Stuart A; Kutuzov, Mikhail A; Dushek, Omer; Barton, Geoffrey John; van der Merwe, P Anton (August 26, 2021). Fouchier, Ron AM; Van der Meer, Jos W; Fouchier, Ron AM (eds.). "Effects of common mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD and its ligand, the human ACE2 receptor on binding affinity and kinetics". eLife. 10 e70658. doi: 10.7554/eLife.70658 . ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 8480977 . PMID 34435953.
↑ Stieb, Matt; Rosa-Aquino, Paola (March 21, 2021). "Everything We Know About the Coronavirus Variant Spreading in New York City". Intelligencer. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
↑ Mandavilli, Apoorva (February 24, 2021). "A New Coronavirus Variant Is Spreading in New York, Researchers Report". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 10, 2021.
↑ "outbreak.info". outbreak.info. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
↑ "PANGO lineages Lineage B.1.526". cov-lineages.org. April 22, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
↑ "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
↑ "SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions". CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 11, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
↑ "Spike Variants: Iota variant, aka B.1.526". covdb.stanford.edu. Stanford University Coronavirus Antiviral & Resistance Database. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
↑ Corum, Jonathan; Zimmer, Carl (February 9, 2021). "Coronavirus Variants and Mutations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 10, 2021.
↑ West, Anthony P.; Barnes, Christopher O.; Yang, Zhi; Bjorkman, Pamela J. (February 23, 2021). "SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.526 emerging in the New York region detected by software utility created to query the spike mutational landscape". bioRxiv 10.1101/2021.02.14.431043 .
↑ SARS-CoV-2 sequences by variant, Jul 26, 2021, USA Our World in Data
↑ "GISAID - hCov19 Variants". www.gisaid.org. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

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[1] "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved June 1, 2021.

[2] Barton, Michael I; MacGowan, Stuart A; Kutuzov, Mikhail A; Dushek, Omer; Barton, Geoffrey John; van der Merwe, P Anton (August 26, 2021). Fouchier, Ron AM; Van der Meer, Jos W; Fouchier, Ron AM (eds.). "Effects of common mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD and its ligand, the human ACE2 receptor on binding affinity and kinetics". eLife. 10 e70658. doi: 10.7554/eLife.70658 . ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 8480977 . PMID 34435953.

[3] Stieb, Matt; Rosa-Aquino, Paola (March 21, 2021). "Everything We Know About the Coronavirus Variant Spreading in New York City". Intelligencer. Retrieved April 10, 2021.

[4] Mandavilli, Apoorva (February 24, 2021). "A New Coronavirus Variant Is Spreading in New York, Researchers Report". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 10, 2021.

[5] "outbreak.info". outbreak.info. Retrieved April 10, 2021.

[6] "PANGO lineages Lineage B.1.526". cov-lineages.org. April 22, 2021. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.

[7] "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved June 1, 2021.

[CDC_variants-8] "SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions". CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 11, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2021.

[Stanford1-9] "Spike Variants: Iota variant, aka B.1.526". covdb.stanford.edu. Stanford University Coronavirus Antiviral & Resistance Database. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.

[10] Corum, Jonathan; Zimmer, Carl (February 9, 2021). "Coronavirus Variants and Mutations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 10, 2021.

[11] West, Anthony P.; Barnes, Christopher O.; Yang, Zhi; Bjorkman, Pamela J. (February 23, 2021). "SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.526 emerging in the New York region detected by software utility created to query the spike mutational landscape". bioRxiv 10.1101/2021.02.14.431043 .

[12] SARS-CoV-2 sequences by variant, Jul 26, 2021, USA Our World in Data

[13] "GISAID - hCov19 Variants". www.gisaid.org. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

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SARS-CoV-2 Iota variant

Contents

Mutations

History

Statistics

See also

References