Strain wars 5: Gibbs energies of binding of BA.1 through BA.4 variants of SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

This paper reports, for the first time, standard Gibbs energies of binding of the BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.2.13, BA.2.12.1 and BA.4 Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2, to the Human ACE2 receptor. Variants BA.1 through BA.3 exhibit a trend of decreasing standard Gibbs energy of binding and hence increased infectivity. The BA.4 variant exhibits a less negative standard Gibbs energy of binding, but also more efficient evasion of the immune response. Therefore, it was concluded that all the analyzed strains evolve in accordance with expectations of the theory of evolution, albeit using different strategies.