University of Texas: Protein discovery holds promise for 'wide range' of at-home virus tests

Researchers have discovered a protein that could help develop new home tests for a variety of diseases, according to a University of Texas at Austin news release.

"With its abilities to target so many types of genetic material, the discovery holds potential for the development of new inexpensive and highly sensitive at-home diagnostic tests for a wide range of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, influenza, Ebola and Zika," the news release said.

The protein, called Cas12a2, was discovered using a genetic technology known as CRISPR.

"The versatility of CRISPR technology allows for the modification of the Cas12a2 protein's ability to target different genetic material, enhancing its application in diagnostic testing," the news release said.

A test developed based on this technology could in theory have the benefits of current PCR-based tests that detect genetic material from a virus and rapid at-home tests which are low-cost and do not require expensive laboratory equipment, the university said.

“If some new virus comes out tomorrow, all you have to do is figure out its genome and then change the guide RNA in your test, and you’d have a test against it,” David Taylor, an associate professor of molecular biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin and an author of the new study, said in a statement.

The study was published in the journal Nature and involved researchers from Utah State and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and the University of Würzburg in Germany. 

The researchers are currently part of a patent application on modifications to the Cas12a2 protein for use in testing, the news release said. The commercialization office at the University of Texas at Austin is working to find industry partners that can help realize the potential of the technology, the university said.

The research was funded in part by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, The Welch Foundation, and the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation, the news release said.