Scary news about Covid—with a happy ending
The virus is a master of swapping its genes to mutate. But this could be its Achilles' heel.
In recent weeks, there’s been a lot of worry about tiny mutations in the coronavirus that might render it more transmissible or potentially even more deadly. While these small changes are definitely of concern, scientists say we should be paying more attention to the fact that coronaviruses are masters of swapping large chunks of RNA in their genomes. This large-scale mixing, called ‘recombination’, might be a way that viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, could consolidate mutations from different variants into a single, more dangerous strain.
Recent analyses of coronaviruses genomes suggests they are so ‘promiscuous’ that they can recombine with other coronaviruses within their taxonomic groups. So scientists say we need to be ultra-vigilant. However, there’s a silver lining: it seems that one enzyme, known as nsp14-ExoN, is key to enabling coronaviruses to recombine, and it might be possible to block it with drugs. Such drugs might also be given in combination with antivirals such as remdesivir to help boost their action.
Read about why recombination is a threat, and how scientists are tackling it in my latest story, which appears online today in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/health/covid-variants-genome-recombination.html