The Omicron variant has probably extracted and assimilated genetic material from at least one other common cold coronavirus, which explains to some extent the greater transmissibility it has compared to Delta and other previous strains of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, perhaps but it also means that it causes less serious illness, or even completely asymptomatic, according to researchers in the US.
Scientists at the Massachusetts company Nference, which analyzes biomedical data, according to Reuters and the Washington Post, analyzed the Omicron genome and found that part of it was very similar to that found in a coronavirus, which causes colds. This particular Omicron mutation probably occurred in a host (possibly a patient) who was co-infected with Covid-19 SARS-CoV-2 and the HCoV-229E coronavirus for the common cold. This common genetic mutation in the two viruses was not observed in any of the previous variants of SARs-CoV-2, but has been found in HIV / AIDS patients.
Researchers, who have not yet made a scientific publication but only a pre-publication on the basis of OSF Preprints and their findings are considered preliminary, believe that the “striking” similarity may explain why Omicron seems more capable of escaping immune protection.
Cells in the lungs and gastrointestinal tract can host many coronaviruses and other viruses at the same time, exchanging genetic material with each other. This recombination sometimes adds new features to a virus.
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