TOKYO: A team including the University of Tokyo has developed a quick method to test for the new coronavirus through the use of genome editing technology.

As the new method is as accurate as polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests and will allow people to test for coronavirus at cheap prices, the team is currently rushing to put it into practical use.

The method involves adding body fluids extracted by the swabbing of the patient's nasal cavity and saliva to a culture fluid to amplify novel coronavirus genes.

Using CRISPR-Cas3, a genome editing technology that combines man-made proteins and RNA, the method will allow people to find gene sequences unique to the new coronavirus.

According to Tomoji Mashimo, a professor at the university's Institute of Medical Science, the positive test results from the newly developed method concurred with those of PCR tests at a rate of 90 percent, while the negative agreement rate stood at 95.3 percent.

While PCR tests need advanced equipment and take at least several hours to obtain results, the new method will not require any special devices and the total test time will be around 40 to 60 minutes.

Compared with antigen tests, which are simple but cannot adequately detect the coronavirus unless there are ample amounts of the virus, the new method can detect RNA materials from a few dozen viruses, according to Mashimo.

"We hope to work with Japanese startups to put (the new method) into use as early as winter this year," Mashimo said.

CRISPR-Cas3 is a Japanese-made genome editing technology developed by Mashimo and others.

JIJI Press