Jan 06, 2022 07:00:00

The origin of the new Corona Omicron strain was found to be mutated in mice and infected humans.

'B.1.1.529 (Omicron strain) ', a new mutant strain of the new coronavirus, is rapidly spreading all over the world. It has been pointed out that such an Omicron strain may have evolved in the body of rodents, and a research team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences said, 'The Omicron strain is mutated from humans to mice infected with the new coronavirus and is again human. I was infected with '.'

Evidence for a mouse origin of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant --PMC
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC8702434/

The Omicron strain was first reported in South Africa on November 24, 2021, and was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a 'variant of concern for increased infection' on November 26, 2021. The characteristic of the Omicron strain is that it has an exceptionally large number of mutations. According to the data reported so far, the Omicron strain is considered to have less damage to the lungs and a lower risk of aggravation than the conventional mutant strain, but it is highly resistant to the vaccine and has extremely high infectivity. I am.

It has been pointed out that such an Omicron strain is not a strain that has mutated during the spread of infection among humans, but a strain that has evolved among other animal species such as rodents.

Researchers claim that the Omicron strain of the new coronavirus may have evolved among 'rodents'-GIGAZINE

According to a research team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the gene sequence for the spike protein of the Omicron strain was significantly different from that of the mutant strain evolved in human patients, whereas the mutation evolved in the mouse cell environment. It was similar to that of the stock. Furthermore, it was found that mutations in the spike protein of the Omicron strain have a high affinity for receptors on the cell surface of mice.

Furthermore, by analyzing the mutant portion of the Omicron strain, the research team spread the infection of the new coronavirus from humans to mice in the middle of 2020, spread the infection among mice and acquired the mutation, and in the latter half of 2021 It claims that it has become an Omicron strain and has spread to humans again.

'Given the ability of the new coronavirus to jump over and infect different species, animal-derived mutants may emerge until the pandemic is well controlled,' the researchers said. .. In addition, the findings 'useful for strategies to prevent other wildlife outbreaks among humans.'