Memory Gaps in America: Mutational and Immunoinformatic Analysis of Evolving SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern and Interest.

The perpetuation of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has permitted the continued evolution of mutations, many of which appear to promote infectivity, transmission, and immune evasion. Critically, several derivative lineages defined as variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of interest (VOIs) have emerged in the last year that possess a constellation of highly adaptive mutations that have resulted in unprecedented propagation. To better understand the significance of these mutations, we analyzed their molecular and immunological consequences against the immunogenetic profile of the United States population using immunoinformatics to analyze in silico data. Our findings indicate that several evolving mutations in the VOCs and VOIs appear to confer immune evasion properties leading to antigenic drift, specifically for Ab-mediated and Th cell-mediated immune recognition, whereas mutations leading to evasion from innate immune mechanisms are less common in the more successful VOC strains compared with the VOIs. Importantly, several of these mutations raise concerns for the effectiveness of anamnestic responses achieved through natural infection and vaccination as well as for the utility of Ab-based therapeutic interventions. The emergence of such adaptations underscores the need for vaccine enhancements as well as the continued need to for preventative hygiene measures to help minimize transmission.

Quantitative Detection of Chicken and Turkey Contamination in Cooked Meat Products by ELISA.

Background: Concerns about the contamination of meat products with undeclared meats and new regulations for the declaration of meat adulterants have established the need for a rapid test to detect chicken and turkey adulteration. Objective: To address this need, Microbiologique, Inc. has developed an ELISA that can quantify the presence of chicken and turkey down to 0.1% (w/w) in cooked pork, horse, beef, goat, and lamb meats. Results: This chicken/turkey authentication ELISA has an analytical sensitivity of 0.000037% and 0.000048% (w/v) for cooked and autoclaved chicken, respectively, and an analytical range of quantitation of 0.025-2% (w/v), in the absence of other meats. The assay cross-reacts with cooked duck and pheasant but does not demonstrate any cross-reactivity with cooked pork, horse, beef, goat, and lamb meats, egg, or common food matrixes. Conclusions: The assay is rapid, can be completed in 70 min, and can detect a 0.1% level of meat adulteration. Highlights: The Microbiologique Cooked Chicken/Turkey ELISA can quantitate cooked chicken/turkey in the presence of pork, horse, chicken, goat, or sheep meat to 0.1% (w/w) and is not affected by common food matrixes.

Quantitative Detection of Beef Contamination in Cooked Meat Products by ELISA.

Background: Concerns about the contamination of meat products with undeclared meats, and new regulations for the declaration of meat adulterants have established the need for a rapid test to detect beef adulteration to 0.1% sensitivity. Objective: To address this need, Microbiologique, Inc. has developed an ELISA that can quantify the presence of beef down to 0.1% (w/w) in cooked pork, horse, chicken, goat, and sheep meat. Results: The beef-authentication ELISA has an analytical sensitivity of 0.00022 and 0.00012% (w/v) for cooked and autoclaved beef, respectively, and an analytical range of quantitation of 0.025 to 2% (w/v), in the absence of other meats. Moreover, the assay is specific for cooked beef and does not cross react with common food matrixes. Conclusions: The assay is rapid, can be completed in 70 min, and can detect a 0.1% level of meat adulteration. The assay is an improvement over a previous U.S. Department of Agriculture's tested assay, which is sensitive to 1% adulteration and takes 2.5-3 h to complete. Highlights: The Microbiologique Cooked Beef ELISA can quantitate cooked beef in the presence of pork, horse, chicken, goat, and sheep meat to 0.1% (w/w) and is not affected by common food matrixes.

Quantitative Detection of Pork Contamination in Cooked Meat Products by ELISA.

Recent news of many cases of adulteration of meats with pork has bolstered the need for a way to detect and quantify the unwanted contamination of pork in other meats. To address this need, Microbiologique, Inc. has produced a sandwich ELISA assay that can rapidly quantify the presence of pork in cooked horse, beef, chicken, goat, and lamb meats. We carried out a validation study and showed that this assay has an analytical sensitivity of 0.00014 and 0.00040% (w/v) for cooked and autoclaved pork, respectively, and an analytical range of quantitation of 0.05-3.2% (w/v) in the absence of other meats. The assay can measure pork contamination down to 0.1% (w/w) in the presence of cooked horse, beef, chicken, goat, and lamb meats. The assay is quick and can be completed in 1 h and 10 min.

Quantitative Detection of Horse Contamination in Cooked Meat Products by ELISA.

Concerns about the contamination of meat products with horse meat and new regulations for the declaration of meat adulterants have highlighted the need for a rapid test to detect horse meat adulteration. To address this need, Microbiologique, Inc., has developed a sandwich ELISA that can quantify the presence of horse meat down to 0.1% (w/w) in cooked pork, beef, chicken, goat, and lamb meats. This horse meat authentication ELISA has an analytical sensitivity of 0.000030 and 0.000046% (w/v) for cooked and autoclaved horse meat, respectively, and an analytical range of quantitation of 0.05-0.8% (w/v) in the absence of other meats. The assay is rapid and can be completed in 1 h and 10 min. Moreover, the assay is specific for cooked horse meat and does not demonstrate any cross-reactivity with xenogeneic cooked meat sources.