The recombinant variants of SARS-CoV-2

Subject: Science & Tech

Section: Biotechnology

Context- The World Health Organization (WHO) has ﬂagged the emergence of a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus — the XE recombinant.

Concept-

How are variants created?

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is an RNA virus which evolves by accumulating genetic errors in its genome.
These errors are produced when the virus infects a person and makes copies of itself inside the host’s cells.
These errors (otherwise called mutations) are therefore a by-product of replication of SARS-CoV-2 inside the cell and may be carried forward as the virus continues to infect people.

What is Mutation?

Mutation is an alteration in the genetic material (the genome) of a cell of a living organism or of a virus that is more or less permanent and that can be transmitted to the cell’s or the virus’s descendants.
The genomes of organisms are all composed of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), whereas viral genomes can be of DNA or Ribo Nucleic Acid (RNA).
Such mutations that provide increased fitness to the virus increase in numbers and become the dominant strain or variant.

Recombinant Variants:

When a person is simultaneously infected with two different SARS-CoV-2 variants or strains or sub-lineages, chunks of genetic material from one variant can get mixed with the other. This is called recombination.
For example, recombination of Delta and Omicron variants.

Are recombinant variants more deadly?

Although recombination has been detected in SARS-CoV-2, it has not yet impacted public health in a unique way.