More really | the combination of Delta and Opmi kerong appeared? Can different strains of COVID-19 recombine occur?

True points:

1. On January 8, the University of Cyprus discovered a new variant of the new coronavirus, which has genetic characteristics similar to Those of Omexjong in the Delta genome, so it was named Delta Kerong, but the relevant research is controversial, and many well-known scholars said that the newly discovered strain may not be recombined by two strains, but caused by laboratory contamination. Since the full data has not yet been published, we cannot reach a final conclusion.

2. The possibility of recombination between different new coronavirus mutant strains to form new strains exists, but the probability of occurrence is very low, and the newly formed mutant strains may not have higher transmission than the two maternal mutants.

Verified by: Han Yue 丨 Postdoctoral Fellow in Virology, University of Cambridge

The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, but the spread of the coronavirus doesn't seem to be slowing down. The Omicron strain hit a new high in the number of infections in several countries. A few days ago, there were rumors that "Omi kerong and Delta (Delta) have 'merged', and the most terrible strain 'Deltacron' has been born!" "Is this true?

I. How did the name Delta Kerong come about?

On January 8, Leondios Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, and his team discovered a new variant of the new coronavirus that has genetic characteristics similar to Those of Omilon in the Delta genome, hence the name Deltakeron. In the study, the researchers collected a total of 25 mutant samples, 11 from hospitalized COVID-19 patients and 14 samples from the generally infected population. The researchers found that the mutation frequency of hospitalized patient samples was higher than that of the average infected person, which may mean that there is a correlation between Delta Kerong and hospitalization, so the pathogenicity and infectivity of Delta Kerong need to be paid attention to.

However, Professor Leondios Kostrikis's research has been questioned by many. Professor Fatima Tokhmafshan, a geneticist at McGill University in Montreal, said on Twitter that the newly discovered strain was not recombinant, but was caused by laboratory contamination. In an interview, she explained that in the process of virus evolution, when a new mutation appears, scientists can usually construct the "evolutionary tree" of the virus and locate the approximate time when the mutation appears by comparing the sequence of the virus that is more closely related to it. But with data uploaded by Professor Leondios Kostrikis, they were unable to locate the location of the mutation carried on Delta Kerong on the "evolutionary tree" that appeared. Thus, it can be concluded that Delta Croon was not recombined but was the result of laboratory contamination [1].

Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, a world health organization covid-19 expert, holds a similar view, according to her social platform post, the gene fragments of Omiclon detected in the Delta sample may have been caused by the contamination of the sample in the laboratory, rather than the emergence of a new recombinant virus. However, at present, the complete data of Thetakeron-related experiments have not been published, and we cannot reach a final conclusion.

Thankfully, regardless of the Delta Kerong recombinant strain, there is only one case reported so far, and the strain has not formed a large-scale spread. Initially, Deltacron related gene sequences were uploaded to the public database GISAID (global influenza data sharing initiative global initiative on sharing all influenza data was established in 2008 by some of the world's more authoritative medical scientists, and is currently the world's largest influenza and novel coronavirus data platform). However, because of the controversy, GISAID has temporarily removed it.

Second, may there be recombination between different mutant strains of the new crown virus to form new strains?

This is possible.

In October 2021, Japanese scholars published the paper Genome Recombination between Delta and Alpha Variants of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (genomic recombination between delta and alpha variants of the novel coronavirus), The study mentions recombinant strains of Delta and Alpha found in Japan (AY.29+B.1.1.7).

However, the probability of such recombination occurring is very low, because in practice, such recombinant variants must be met at the same time:

1) Both variant strains must infect the same patient at the same time;

2) The infected person's immune system did not clear either of the two variant strains at the first time;

3) Genomic recombination occurs between two variant strains (the probability of occurrence under normal circumstances is less than one in a thousand).

Moreover, if these conditions are met, the newly formed mutant strain may not have a higher propagation force than the two maternal mutants.

We do need to keep an eye on these possible new mutations, but we don't have to panic too much.

This article was edited by Ambergchen

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