Due to the collaboration of the University of Pécs Szentágothai Research Center Virological Research Group led by Professor Ferenc Jakab, and the Bioinformatics Research Group led by dr. Attila Gyenesei, they were the first in Hungary to determine the complete genetic code of the coronavirus.
“This is an important milestone for further national and international research. I have the honour to lead the Coronavirus Research Task Force in Hungary, which aims to better understand the virus: to examine the mechanism of infection and transmission, to identify possible preventive steps, and to develop an effective medicine and therapies later. The current result clearly indicates that such professional collaborations can bring the expected success in Hungary as well,” said dr. Ferenc Jakab.
The Virological Research Group in Pécs, under the guidance of dr. Gábor Kemenesi, processed a sample of an infected Hungarian patient’s pharyngeal exudate as a first step, following the international protocol. Subsequently, the colleagues of the genomics and bioinformatics laboratory of the Center, Péter Urbán and Gábor Endre Tóth, determined the genetic code of the virus using a new generation sequencing technology. The processing and analysis of huge amounts of data was carried out by the colleague of the Bioinformatics Research Group, dr. Róbert Herczeg.
The close cooperation of the research groups and the developed procedure allows to carry out the entire workflow as quickly as possible in Hungary in the case of further confirmed positive samples at the University of Pécs Szentágothai Research Center.
Source:
PTE