Grant: Applied Research Rapid Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything the world has seen in over a century, both in terms of global spread and economic impact. Caused by the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus, the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to rise. In order to move past "stay at home" orders, testing on a massive scale is required to be able to properly track the virus. Additionally, evidence has suggested that the virus spreads through asymptomatic persons as well, which increased testing will be helpful in the large-scale tracking of "carriers". At the current time, we do not have the ability for population-wide testing due to a limited reagent supply. Serological testing can be used to identify people who have been infected and become immune by detecting antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The current method to produce the spike protein uses insect or mammalian cells, which are expensive and difficult to scale. This project proposes to produce the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using the microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum. P. tricornutum is an excellent expression system because it can appropriately glycosylate exogenous proteins, it is inexpensive, it has minimal biocontainment requirements, and it is amenable to rapid scaling for the large-scale production needed to combat SARS-CoV-2. In addition to the current pandemic, this method could be rapidly adapted if the spike protein mutates and could be used for future outbreaks of other viruses. This project will be a joint collaboration between the University of Western Ontario, Lambton College and Suncor Energy. The goal of the project is to facilitate a rapid test to identify people that have been exposed and become immune to the latest virus called SARS-CoV-2. Most individuals affected do not display symptoms and can spread COVID-19 without even knowing it. Furthermore, identifying people who have been exposed would allow healthcare and government officials better information on the spread and effect of the virus.