Advances in Molecular Genetics Enabling Studies of Highly Pathogenic RNA Viruses

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 14; no. 12; p. 2682
• Main Authors: Mittelholzer, Christian, Klimkait, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30.11.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Analysis; Animals; Care and treatment; Cell culture; Clinical medicine; Cloning; Control; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Diagnosis; Genetics; Genomes; HIV; HIV Infections; HIV-1; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Identification and classification; Infections; Laboratories; Life cycles; Medical research; Molecular Biology; Mutation; Pathogens; Plasmids; reverse genetics; Review; Risk factors; RNA viruses; RNA Viruses - genetics; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Virus diseases; Viruses; Switzerland; United States > US; HIV-1; RNA viruses; SARS-CoV-2; reverse genetics; cloning
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v14122682

Experimental work with viruses that are highly pathogenic for humans and animals requires specialized Biosafety Level 3 or 4 facilities. Such pathogens include some spectacular but also rather seldomly studied examples such as Ebola virus (requiring BSL-4), more wide-spread and commonly studied viruses such as HIV, and the most recent example, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. A common characteristic of these virus examples is that their genomes consist of single-stranded RNA, which requires the conversion of their genomes into a DNA copy for easy manipulation; this can be performed to study the viral life cycle in detail, develop novel therapies and vaccines, and monitor the disease course over time for chronic virus infections. We summarize the recent advances in such new genetic applications for RNA viruses in Switzerland over the last 25 years, from the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to the most recent developments in research on the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. We highlight game-changing collaborative efforts between clinical and molecular disciplines in HIV research on the path to optimal clinical disease management. Moreover, we summarize how the modern technical evolution enabled the molecular studies of emerging RNA viruses, confirming that Switzerland is at the forefront of SARS-CoV-2 research and potentially other newly emerging viruses.