Fast, cheap and sensitive: Homogenizer-based RNA extraction free method for SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-qPCR.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 gold standard detection method is an RT-qPCR with a previous step of viral RNA extraction from the patient sample either by using commercial automatized or manual extraction kits. This RNA extraction step is expensive and time demanding.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical performance of a simple SARS-CoV-2 detection protocol based on a fast and intense sample homogenization followed by direct RT-qPCR.

Analytical and clinical evaluation of a heat shock SARS-CoV-2 detection method without RNA extraction for N and E genes RT-qPCR.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant supply shortages worldwide for SARS-CoV-2 molecular diagnosis, like RNA extraction kits.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical performance and analytical sensitivity of a simple SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis protocol based on heat shock without RNA extraction using both "CDC" (N gene) and "Charite" (E gene) RT-qPCR protocols.

Results: 1,036 nasopharyngeal samples, 543 of them SARS-CoV-2 positive, were analyzed.

Crucial contribution of the universities to SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in Ecuador: Lessons for developing countries.

COVID-19 pandemic has challenged public health systems worldwide, particularly affecting developing countries in Latin America like Ecuador. In this report, we exposed the fundamental role of the Ecuadorian universities to improve COVID-19 surveillance in the country, with an overall contribution over 15% of the total SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests done. We highlight the role of our university during the first semester of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to a massive free SARS-CoV-2 testing up to almost 10% of the total diagnosis completed in the country, mainly focus on underserved urban, rural and indigenous communities.

Methicillin resistant carriage among guinea pigs raised as livestock in Ecuador.

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing problem in human and veterinary medicine. Here we show that 6.25% of the guinea pigs studied in Ecuador, raised as livestock, carry methicillin resistant (MRSA) in the nasopharynx and therefore may potentially play a role in the transmission of MRSA in the Andean Region of South America.

CRISPR-Cas9: A Precise Approach to Genome Engineering.

In the last few decades, genomic manipulation has made significant progress as a result of the development of recombinant DNA technologies; however, more often than not, these techniques have been costly and labor intensive. In contrast, recently developed next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have provided a cheaper, faster, and easier process to study genomics. In particular, an NGS technique emerged from bacterial CRISPR-associated protein-9 nuclease (Cas9) as a revolutionary method to modify, regulate, or mark specific genomic sequences on virtually any organism.