Science, Space and Technology News 2024
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new technology, tARC-seq, which improves the detection of mutations in SARS-CoV-2, helping explain the rapid emergence of variants by identifying hotspots and mechanisms like template switching that contribute to the virus’s evolution. Credit: SciTechDaily.comSARS-CoV-2The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID has the unsettling ability of often generating variants of itself.
The researchers wanted to follow RNA replication errors because they are crucial for understanding how the virus evolves, how it changes and adapts as it spreads in the human population, but current methods lacked the precision to detect rare new SARS-CoV-2 mutations, particularly in samples with a low number of viruses, such as those from patients.
“This idea contrasted with the fact that during the pandemic new COVID variants emerged often around the world,” Herman said. “Since the pandemic began, we’ve seen a number of prominent variants, including Alpha, Beta, Delta and Omicron, as well as variants within these groups.” They also discovered that there are hotspots in SARS-CoV-2 RNA, locations that are more prone to mutation than others. “For example, we identified a hotspot on the RNA region corresponding to the spike protein, the protein that allows the virus to invade cells. Also, RNA of the spike protein makes up many vaccines,” Herman said.
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