Discrimination of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Sublineages BA.1 and BA.2 Using a High-Resolution Melting-Based Assay: a Pilot Study.

ABSTRACT: The Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide. As of March 2022, Omicron variant BA.2 is rapidly replacing variant BA.1. As variant BA.2 may cause more severe disease than variant BA.1, variant BA.2 requires continuous monitoring. The current study aimed to develop a novel high-resolution melting (HRM) assay for variants BA.1 and BA.2 and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of our method using clinical samples. Here, we focused on the mutational spectra at three regions in the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD; R408, G446/L452, and S477/T478) for the variant-selective HRM analysis. Each variant was identified based on the mutational spectra as follows: no mutations (Alpha variant); L452R and T478K (Delta variant); G446S a

SUBMITTER: Aoki A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9430517 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature