新型冠状病毒突变株Omicron核酸检测的TaqMan探针设计

TaqMan Probe Design for Nucleic Acid Detection of the Novel SARS-CoV-2Variant Omicron

Omicron(奥密克戎)作为最新的新型冠状病毒(SARS-CoV-2)突变株,其带有大量的突变位点,且突变位点主要位于S蛋白上,这不仅会增加再次感染病毒的风险,同时也会大幅降低疫苗和抗体疗法的的效果。Omicron携带的突变虽不影响国内现使用的核酸检测试剂,但这些检测试剂不能有效地鉴别出Omicron突变株。本研究通过对Omicron以及其他SARS-CoV-2突变株的基因序列进行分析,设计了能特异性检测Omicron突变株的TaqMan探针。同时,该探针可与现有的核酸检测体系进行结合,实现SARS-CoV-2核酸检测和Omicron突变株鉴别的双重功能。

Omicron strain,as the latest SARS-CoV-2 mutant,contains large number of mutation sites,which are mainly on the S protein. This variant not only increases the risk of virus reinfection,but also greatly reduces the effectiveness of vaccine and antibody therapy. Although the mutations carried by Omicron variant do not affect the nucleic acid detection reagents currently used in China,these reagents cannot effectively identify the Omicron mutant. In this study,a TaqMan probe that specifically detect Omicron mutant was designed by analyzing the gene sequences of Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 mutant strains. Meanwhile,the TaqMan probe can be combined with existing nucleic acid detection system to achieve dual functions of SARS-CoV-2nucleic acid detection and Omicron mutation identification.