Researchers from the United States managed to modify SARS-COV-2 so that it glowed in cell cultures and animal tissues. This will allow you to track the proliferation of coronavirus in real time, the scientists are noted, the article of which was published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Initially, the insertion of researchers from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute in the Coronavirus genome of a reporter gene adding fluorescent or bioluminescent (luciferase) proteins was unsuccessful. It was not sufficiently expressed and forced SARS-COV-2 “glow” in animal fabrics on a sufficient level for easy detection failed. Scientists have found a solution by attaching it to the gene encoding the virus nucleicapside – the most strongly expressed in SARS-COV-2.
Specialists have shown that the “reporter” viruses created by them also behave as well as the “wild” type of coronavirus. This is explained by the fact that the researchers did not remove viral genes, as well as the fact that immediately after expression, the reporter protein is separated from the nucleicapsid protein. The brightness of “glow” protein correlates with a viral load – the amount of viral particles in the body.
In addition, researchers managed to modify reporter genes so that viruses of various options that cause anxiety – in particular, “beta” -varisa – died in different colors. Such an approach allowed researchers to compare, as well-neutralizing antibodies fight with different SARS-COV-2 options.