Fig. 3: Chronology and frequency of the appearance of convergent intra-host mutations.

Evolution of mutations in the region coding for spike in a strain of the clade B.1.1, as they have been proven in identical form in the VOC. α, mutations are described for the Alpha variant B.1.1.7; β, Beta variant B.1.351; δ, Gamma variant B.1.1.28.1; γ, Delta variant B.1.617.2; o, Omicron variant B.1.1.529. The red line graph shows the mean frequency of all mutations at a given day. The development of mutations did not occur linearly, but rather in a fluctuating pattern, with frequent replacement by the wildtype variant. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.