Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a low-cost technology for studying and monitoring new variants of SARS-CoV-2. The technique was presented in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Since the start of the pandemic, thousands of viral genomes have been sequenced to reconstruct the evolution and global spread of the coronavirus, an important practice for monitoring the most contagious, pathogenic or vaccine resistant variants in existence.
Covid, from Alpha to Delta, guide to the variants of the virus: what we know so far
by Simone Valesini
With the aim of developing a system that is as efficient as it is economical, researchers from the Bienko-Crosetto laboratory of the Karolinska Institutet and the Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) in Sweden have developed a new method, called COVseq, which can be used for large-scale surveillance of the viral genome.
First, many copies of the viral genome are created using the so-called multiplex PCR (polymerase chain reaction). The samples are then labeled and grouped together in the same sequencing library, using an earlier method developed in the Bienko-Crosetto laboratory and now adapted for SARS-CoV-2 analysis.
Here’s why the Delta variant is the most infectious of all (for now)
by Giuseppe del Bello
“By running reactions in very small volumes and merging hundreds of samples in the same library, we can potentially sequence thousands of viral genomes per week for less than $ 15 per sample,” he says. Ning Zhang, who previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet and is co-first author along with PhD students Michele Simonetti e Luke Harbers of the same department.
Comparative analyzes of 29 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples revealed that COVseq had a similar ability to the standard method for identifying small changes in the genome. Analyzes of 245 additional samples showed that COVseq also had a high ability to detect emerging coronavirus variants of potential concern.
Covid: what is the new lambda variant that WHO spoke about
The key advantage of COVseq over existing methods is cost-effectiveness, explain the creators. “Our cost-effective method could be immediately used for SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance by public health agencies and could also be easily adapted to other RNA viruses, such as influenza and dengue viruses,” he says. Nicola Crosetto, senior researcher in the Department of Biochemical and Biophysical Medicine, Karolinska Institutet and last author of the article.
Covid variants, in the race to fight them Italy is behind
by Daniele Banfi
The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the “Amedeo di Savoia” Hospital and the Candiolo Cancer Institute in Turin, Italy. The research was supported by grants from the National Research Program COVID-19 SciLifeLab, funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, and by grants from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, as well as by private donations from Chiesi Pharma AB and Tetra Pak AB.
Natural or created in the laboratory: the mystery of the origins of Covid
by Daniele Banfi
.