Swiss Researchers Successfully Replicate COVID-19 Virus Using Beer Yeast

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Swiss researchers have announced that they have successfully artificially replicated and synthesized the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) using beer yeast. With yeast-based technology enabling COVID-19 virus research without clinical samples, there is growing expectation that this will provide a significant foundation for vaccine research.

According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 7th, a research team from the University of Bern in Switzerland succeeded in artificially synthesizing the COVID-19 virus using beer yeast, and their research paper was published in the international scientific journal Nature. The team divided the COVID-19 virus genes into 14 segments and inserted them into yeast, which then used a 'reverse genetics' technique to combine the gene segments one by one to form a complete genome. This technology made large-scale replication of the COVID-19 virus possible.

The Swiss research team stated, "Using yeast-based technology, we can create the virus within a week after obtaining the nucleotide sequence data," and added, "It will be possible to study the COVID-19 virus even without clinical samples." This research is expected to accelerate the development of effective treatments and vaccines for the COVID-19 virus, which frequently mutates and is difficult to model. Previously, Chinese researchers identified 5,771 variants of the COVID-19 virus, highlighting the challenges posed by its high mutation rate in research.

Regarding this research, Dr. Jang Su-ye from Fudan University in China said, "Due to the high difficulty of reverse genetics technology, only countries such as the United States, China, and some European nations are likely to succeed," and emphasized, "It is necessary to ensure airtight laboratory security to prevent the artificial COVID-19 virus from leaking."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.