ABOVE: Two of the study's authors, Sam Wilson and Suzanah Rihn
STUART CAMPBELL, PHOTOGRAPHIC UNIT, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Sam Wilson and his colleagues quickly realized that they lacked the fundamental tools to study the disease-causing virus, SARS-CoV-2. “That’s when we started to produce these research tools,” including antibodies and a system for modifying the virus, says Wilson, a molecular virologist at the MRC University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research. At the same time, Wilson noticed many non-coronavirus labs were pivoting their research to focus on COVID-19. “We were producing reagents for ourselves, so it seemed sensible to produce them for the wider research community as well,” he says.
In a paper published February 25 in PLOS Biology, Wilson and his collaborators describe a molecular toolkit for SARS-CoV-2 research, including viral isolates, a reverse genetics system for genetically manipulating the virus, and a ...
