Development of new RT-PCR assays for the specific detection of BA.2.86 SARS-CoV-2 and its descendent sublineages.

The SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 variant, also known as Pirola, has acquired over 30 amino acid changes in the Spike protein, evolving into >150 sublineages within ten months of its emergence.

EU surveys insights: analytical tools, future directions, and the essential requirement for reference materials in wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2, antimicrobial resistance and beyond.

Background: Wastewater surveillance (WWS) acts as a vigilant sentinel system for communities, analysing sewage to protect public health by detecting outbreaks and monitoring trends in pathogens and contaminants. To achieve a thorough comprehension of present and upcoming practices and to identify challenges and opportunities for standardisation and improvement in WWS methodologies, two EU surveys were conducted targeting over 750 WWS laboratories across Europe and other regions. The first survey explored a diverse range of activities currently undertaken or planned by laboratories.

Tracking the Spread of the BA.2.86 Lineage in Italy Through Wastewater Analysis.

The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants poses challenges to global surveillance efforts, necessitating swift actions in their detection, evaluation, and management. Among the most recent variants, Omicron BA.2.

Detection and Quantification of Botanical Impurities in Commercial Oregano () Using Metabarcoding and Digital PCR.

DNA technology for food authentication is already well established, and with the advent of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and, more specifically, metabarcoding, compositional analysis of food at the molecular level has rapidly gained popularity. This has led to several reports in the media about the presence of foreign, non-declared species in several food commodities. As herbs and spices are attractive targets for fraudulent manipulation, a combination of digital PCR and metabarcoding by NGS was employed to check the purity of 285 oregano samples taken from the European market.