Fig. 1: Molecular Evolution and Profile of BA.4 and BA.5 lineages.
From: Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineages BA.4 and BA.5 in South Africa
a, Time-resolved maximum clade credibility phylogeny of the BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 lineages (n = 221, sampled between 29 December 2021 and 7 April 2022). Mutations that characterize the lineages are indicated on the branch at which each first emerged. The posterior distribution of the TMRCA is also shown for BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5. b, Spatiotemporal reconstruction of the spread of the BA.4 lineage in South Africa. c, Spatiotemporal reconstruction of the spread of the BA.5 lineage in South Africa. In b and c, circles represent nodes of the maximum clade credibility phylogeny, colored according to their inferred time of occurrence (scale shown). EC, Eastern Cape; FS, Free State; GP, Gauteng; KZN, KwaZulu-Natal; LP, Limpopo; MP, Mpumalanga; NC, Northern Cape; NW, North West; WC, Western Cape. Solid curved lines denote the links between nodes, and the directionality of movement is indicated (anti-clockwise along the curve). d, Amino acid mutations in the spike gene of the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages. Mutations that differ from BA.2 are denoted in red, including the wild-type amino acid at position Q493 (denoted by the red asterisk (*)). NTD, N-terminal domain; SD1, subdomain 1; SD2, subdomain 2.
