Researchers from Ben Gurion University of the Negev have developed a method to identify British and South African corona mutations within hours instead of several days
Current tests for the British and South African coronavirus mutations are expensive, time-consuming or indirect. At Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, researchers from the Department of Biotechnological Engineering have developed a cost-effective and rapid test based on quantitative PCR that successfully identifies the British or South African version of the virus. The tests reduce the time needed to determine whether the infection was caused by one of the mutations to just a few hours.
The current standard for testing mutations of the corona virus is the test that checks the result of the genomic sequence of the virus. This test usually lasts several days and is expensive. now, Dr. Karin Yaniv וDr. Eden Ozer helps, under the supervision of Prof. Ariel Kushmaro From the Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory at Ben-Gurion University, they developed a rapid testing method based on a missing region of the coding gene that differentiates the variants from the original strain of the corona virus.
The tests as part of the study were performed on the basis of sewage samples from the city of Beer Sheva. The tests successfully discovered the British version of the virus and not the South African one, which was prevalent at the time of the test in Israel. In this way, wastewater found to be positive for the virus can also accurately indicate the presence of this or that mutation and even provide information on the relationship between the virus and mutations in a given geographic area.
"My laboratory worked vigorously during this epidemic to provide tools for early warning and detection of the virus," said Prof. Ariel Kushmaro. As of today, the method we developed to detect the corona virus in sewage is being used in a number of cities throughout Israel. Now, we use the capabilities we have developed and upgrade it also to identify the new mutations and continue to perfect our research for the benefit of the community."
The team of researchers included: Dr. Karin Yaniv and Prof. Ariel Kushmaro From the Laboratory for Environmental Biotechnology in the Department of Biotechnology Engineering named after Abram and Stella Goldstein-Goren. Dr. Eden Ozer helps from the Department of Life Sciences. Other researchers include: Noam Plotkin and Nicole Shork Bandarkar, All from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
The study was supported by a scientific action force for the study of the corona virus at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Ministry of Health.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
