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]

By February 2021, it had spread rapidly in the New York region and accounted for about one in four viral sequences.^[3][4] By 11 April 2021, the variant had been detected in at least 48 U.S. states and 18 countries.^[5][6]

Under the simplified naming scheme proposed by the World Health Organization, B.1.526 has been labeled Iota variant, and is considered a variant of interest (VOI), but not yet a variant of concern.^[7]

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]

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]

• Variants of SARS-CoV-2: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Omicron