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Coronavirus pandemic

Method developed in Russia allows to detect over 400 COVID-19 genomes, RAS says

The new approach allowed the scientists to plot a phylogenetic tree which reflects evolutionary links between new variants of the virus, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Alexander Sergeyeм thinks

President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeyev Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeyev

© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/. A method to detect a full coronavirus genome and analyze its genetic variants developed by scientists of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing has allowed to isolate over 400 variants of SARS-CoV-2 with data published in Russian and foreign scientific databases, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Alexander Sergeyev told the general meeting of the Academy on Tuesday.

"A method for detection of full sequences of genomes and analysis of various gene variants was developed for epidemiological surveillance of COVID-19. A primer model was developed which allows to identify a full genome using only 17 pairs of primers. <…> Now <…> more than 400 genomes of SARS-CoV-2 have been defined, 300 of them were published in the domestic database and 270 - in the international one," the Academy’s president said.

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The new approach allowed the scientists to plot a phylogenetic tree which reflects evolutionary links between new variants of the virus, the president thinks.

The general meeting of members of the RAS is taking place on April 20-21 in a hybrid format. On Tuesday, it was opened with a report of the head of the Academy on the most important scientific achievements of researchers in 2020 as well as the priority directions of the Academy’s work on implementing the state scientific and technical policy. Reports by representatives of regional branches of the Academy are also scheduled for April 20. On the second day of the meeting, on April 21, a session dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s space flight will take place. It is expected that 12 scientists and experts in the sphere of space exploration will deliver their reports.

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