Virology: Current Research

Introduction of the STexS PCR Technique and the Advantages of Simultaneous Multi-target PCR Application

Abstract

Hyoung-Min Park, Jae Jong Kim, J Eugene Lee and Byoung Chul Park*

Detecting and diagnosing small changes occurred by gene alteration via PCR is globally considered as an effective and precise method for handling various diseases. From the internal factors which change the normal body to develop disorders such as cancer to mutated external sources of infection that alters the intact human body, mainly bacteria and viruses. Among these, SARS-CoV-2 has emerged to be one of the most concerning threats to public health due to its rapid mutation. From the initial outbreak in 2019, research groups continuously identified various subtypes, some of which branched out as a novel variant of the original form that caused global health crisis among the population. While the standard PCR method of real-time quantitative reverse transcription is considered effective in detection and prevention, as more SARS-CoV-2 variants emerged, the overall process of identifying each variant one by one has deteriorated the standard procedure to be tiresome and time-consuming. To overcome the inefficiency, a novel PCR method using oligonucleotides (STexS) was introduced to significantly increase the specificity in detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms. Furthermore, the implementation of simultaneous multi-target PCR successfully isolated both Delta and Omicron variants within a single PCR trial, condensing the excessively long PCR procedure to be overall efficient and precise at the same time. The improvements will provide crucial insight in SARS-CoV-2 detection and diagnosis.