The independent emergence late in 2020 of the B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1 lineages of SARS-CoV-2 prompted renewed concerns about the evolutionary capacity of this virus to overcome public health interventions and rising population immunity. Here, by examining patterns of synonymous and non-synonymous mutations that have accumulated in SARS-CoV-2 genomes since the pandemic began, we find that the emergence of these three “501Y lineages” coincided with a major global shift in the selective forces acting on various SARS-CoV-2 genes. Following their emergence, the adaptive evolution of 501Y lineage viruses has involved repeated selectively favored convergent mutations at 35 genome sites, mutations we refer to as the 501Y meta-signature. The ongoing convergence of viruses in many other lineages on this meta-signature suggests that it includes multiple mutation combinations capable of promoting the persistence of diverse SARS-CoV-2 lineages in the face of mounting host immune recognition.

2020 年底，SARS-CoV-2 的 B.1.1.7、B.1.351 和 P.1 谱系独立出现，引发了人们对这种病毒克服公共卫生干预措施和提高人群免疫力的进化能力的新担忧。在这里，通过检查自大流行开始以来 SARS-CoV-2 基因组中积累的同义和非同义突变模式，我们发现这三个“501Y 谱系”的出现恰逢全球选择性力量的重大转变。各种 SARS-CoV-2 基因。出现后，501Y 谱系病毒的适应性进化涉及在 35 个基因组位点重复选择性偏向的趋同突变，我们将这些突变称为 501Y 元特征。许多其他谱系中的病毒在这一元特征上的不断趋同表明，它包含多种突变组合，能够在面对日益增强的宿主免疫识别的情况下促进不同 SARS-CoV-2 谱系的持久存在。