Santa Clara, Calif.-based Affymetrix has released a new array designed for complete resequencing of the SARS coronavirus. The GeneChip® CustomSeq™ SARS pathogen detection and resequencing array encompasses the entire 30 kb genome of the virus, allowing full genome resequencing and permitting all mutations to be identified, says Greg Yap, senior director of marketing.
Yap notes that although only a few SARS strains have been sequenced to date, this is only a fraction of the number needed for understanding the degree of variation between all versions of the virus, studying how the virus is changing as it spreads, and potentially determining which mutations correspond to more virulent strains. "By doing sequencing across a number of strains of virus, identifying all the possible mutations, you can then associate those mutations with ... [severity of illness] and therefore understand better what kinds of treatments to develop," he explains.
--Aileen Constans
