Ancient Covid Strain - DNA Suggests How Some East Asians Handle SARS-CoV-2
Science/Medical/Technology
Thursday 20th, January 2022
A recent study has indicated that an ancient coronavirus strain or a closely associated pathogen was the cause of an epidemic in Eastern Asia approximately 25,000 years ago.
Analysis of over 2,000 people's DNA was found to show genetic changes in response to this ancient pathogen, these genetic changes look to have been developed over the past 20,000 years after the epidemic occurred. This finding raised the possibility that some Eastern Asian people living today could have inherited biological adaptations to coronaviruses.
The DNA used in the study was used from a database which contained 2, 504 samples from 26 ethnic populations. The study initially focused on 420 proteins known to interact with coronaviruses which included 332 proteins that interact with SARS-CoV-2.
A substantially increased production of all 420 proteins is a sign of past exposure to coronavirus-like epidemics and this increased production was only found in East Asia. The findings are consistent with an initially strong genetic response to a virus that waned over time.
This may suggest that East Asians adapted to the virus or that the virus lost its ability to cause disease. There are other factors that have to be taken into consideration as well like the strict lockdowns seen in some Asian countries and the widespread use of masks to reduce the effect of the virus.
Analysis of over 2,000 people's DNA was found to show genetic changes in response to this ancient pathogen, these genetic changes look to have been developed over the past 20,000 years after the epidemic occurred. This finding raised the possibility that some Eastern Asian people living today could have inherited biological adaptations to coronaviruses.
The DNA used in the study was used from a database which contained 2, 504 samples from 26 ethnic populations. The study initially focused on 420 proteins known to interact with coronaviruses which included 332 proteins that interact with SARS-CoV-2.
A substantially increased production of all 420 proteins is a sign of past exposure to coronavirus-like epidemics and this increased production was only found in East Asia. The findings are consistent with an initially strong genetic response to a virus that waned over time.
This may suggest that East Asians adapted to the virus or that the virus lost its ability to cause disease. There are other factors that have to be taken into consideration as well like the strict lockdowns seen in some Asian countries and the widespread use of masks to reduce the effect of the virus.
