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In recent days, scientists have reported that a hybrid of Omicron and Delta coronavirus variants has emerged in many countries in Europe. What is known so far about the hybrid, which received the nicknames Frankensteinian Deltamicron or Deltacron.

How was it found?

In February, Scott Nguyen, a scientist at the Washington DC Public Health Laboratory, was inspecting GISAID, an international organization. database When you notice something strange, the genomes of the coronavirus

He found specimens collected in France in January, which researchers describe as a mix of Delta and Omicron variants. In rare cases, people can be infected with two variants of the coronavirus at the same time. However, Dr. When Nguyen looked closely at the data, he found clues that this conclusion was wrong.

Instead, Dr. It seemed to Nguyen that each virus in the sample actually carried a combination of genes from the two variants. Scientists call such viruses recombinant. Dr. When Nguyen looked for the same mutation pattern, he found more likely recombinants in the Netherlands and Denmark. “This made me suspect that these might be real,” he said in an interview.

Dr. Nguyen published his findings online. forum so-called cov-lineages, in which scientists help each other to keep track of new variants. These collaborations are necessary to double-check possible new variants: It turned out to be a so-called Delta-Omicron recombinant found in Cyprus in January. a mirage caused by faulty laboratory work.

Dr. “There is a lot of evidence needed to show that this is true,” Nguyen said.

Dr. It turns out that Nguyen was right.

“We rushed that day to double-check what he suspected,” Etienne Simon-Loriere, a virologist at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, said in an interview. “And yes, we quickly confirmed that this was the case.”

Since then, Dr. Simon-Loriere and colleagues found more examples of the recombinant virus. Finally, they took a frozen sample from which they had successfully produced the new recombinants in the lab they are currently working on. On March 8, the researchers published the first genome of the recombinant in GISAID.

Where was the new hybrid found?

In a March 10 update, an international database of viral sequences reported 33 instances of new variants in France, eight in Denmark, one in Germany and one in the Netherlands.

As first reported by Reuters, genetic sequencing company Helix to create Two cases in the United States. Dr. Nguyen said he and his colleagues took a fresh look at some database strings in the United States to find more cases.

Is it dangerous?

The thought of a hybrid between Delta and Omicron may sound alarming. But there are several reasons not to panic.

Dr. “This is not a new concern,” said Simon-Loriere.

First, recombinant is extremely rare. Although it has been around since at least January, it has yet to show the ability to grow exponentially.

Dr. Simon-Loriere said the genome of the recombinant variant also suggests that it will not represent a new phase of the pandemic. The gene encoding the virus’s surface protein – known as the spike – comes almost entirely from Omicron. The rest of the genome is Delta.

The spike protein is the most important part of the virus when it comes to invading cells. It is also the main target of antibodies produced through infections and vaccines. Therefore, the defenses humans have acquired against Omicron – through infections, vaccines, or both – should work just as well against the new recombinant.

Dr. “The surface of viruses is very similar to Omicron, so the body will recognize it as much as it recognizes Omicron,” said Simon-Loriere.

scientists suspicious The Omicron’s distinctive pointed tip is also partly responsible for its low likelihood of causing serious illness. The variant uses it to successfully invade cells in the nose and upper airway, but not so well deep in the lungs. The new recombinant may show the same trend.

Dr. Simon-Loriere and other researchers are conducting experiments to see how the new recombinant performs in cell dishes. Experiments on hamsters and mice will provide further clues. But these experiments will not provide insight for several weeks.

Dr. “It’s so fresh we can’t get any results,” said Simon-Loriere.

Where do recombinant viruses come from?

People are sometimes infected with two versions of the coronavirus at the same time. For example, if you go to a crowded bar where several people are infected, you may inhale the virus from more than one person.

It is possible for two viruses to invade the same cell at the same time. Once that cell begins to produce new viruses, the new genetic material can be mixed in and potentially produce a new, hybrid virus.

probably not uncommon for the recombination of coronaviruses. But many of these genetic tangles will be evolutionary dead ends. Viruses with mixtures of genes may not be as successful as their ancestors did.

Do we really call this Deltacron?

For now, some scientists call the new hybrid AY.4/BA.1 recombinant. This will likely change in the coming weeks.

A coalition of scientists system To officially name new coronavirus strains. They give recombinant viruses a two-letter abbreviation that starts with X. XAfor example, it is a hybrid that emerged in December 2020 from a mixture of the Alpha variant and another coronavirus strain called B.1.177.

Dr. Nguyen’s new recombinant is likely to be named XD.

But on March 8, that process was messed up when a second team of French researchers published a report. study online with their own analysis of the same recombinant. Dr. Like Simon-Loriere and his colleagues, they isolated the virus. However, they called it Deltamicron in the title of their study, which has not yet been published in a scientific journal.

Dr. Nguyen, team Dr. He criticized Simon-Loriere’s team for not crediting them for originally sharing the genomes of the first recombinant virus. He also criticized scientists for releasing terrible nicknames for the recombinant, which was immediately caught in news articles. social media posts claimed it was a hoax or manufactured in a lab.

Dr. “These unusual names are stirring up a hornet nest of conspiracy theories,” Nguyen said.

It remains to be seen how well the XD name sticks.