Abstract: The results showed that the existence of
L452R and
T478K mutations can trigger the effective hijacking of ACE2 by the Delta variant through the following three ways: (i) these two mutations can significantly enhance the electrostatic energy of the system by the introduction of two positively charged amino acids (Arg and Lys), thereby increasing the binding affinity of
RBD and ACE2, (ii) the Loops 1, 3, and 4 in the receptor-binding motif (RBM) of
RBD form a tighter conformation under the dominance of the
T478K mutation, allowing ACE2 to be captured more effectively than the wild-type system, and (iii) these conformational changes lead to a more stable hydrogen bond in the Delta variant, which further ensures the stability of the binding.