COVID-19 research: methods lead the way

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of methodological advancements in basic biological research. We believe that method development will continue to propel both fundamental and applied studies on SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens.

Against the backdrop of its many battles with infectious disease, the Global South applies networking and creative grit to face COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, genomics and bioinformatics have emerged as essential public health tools. The genomic data acquired using these methods have supported the global health response, facilitated the development of testing methods and allowed the timely tracking of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants. Yet the virtually unlimited potential for rapid generation and analysis of genomic data is also coupled with unique technical, scientific and organizational challenges. Here, we discuss the application of genomic and computational methods for efficient data-driven COVID-19 response, the advantages of the democratization of viral sequencing around the world and the challenges associated with viral genome data collection and processing.

High-resolution structural information is critical for rapid development of vaccines and therapeutics against emerging human pathogens. Structural biology methods have been at the forefront of research on SARS-CoV-2 since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. These technologies will continue to be powerful tools to fend off future public health threats.

Interactions between carbohydrates and the proteins that bind them (lectins) are often some of the first between a host cell and a viral invader. With its highly glycosylated spike protein, SARS-CoV-2 is no exception. Interrogating glycosylation is vital to understand viral infection, yet it has been a challenge. Improvement in methods ranging from mass spectrometry to glycan arrays and modeling simulations are yielding atomic-level information about the glycans that decorate viruses and host cells alike.

Critical technological advances have enabled the rapid investigations into the immune responses elicited by SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the cutting-edge methods used to deconvolve the B-cell responses against this virus and the impact they have had in the ongoing public health crisis.

This Comment discusses the main animal models that have had a key role in our understanding of the immune and viral dynamics of SARS-CoV-2.

This Perspective discusses the use of organoid technology, its current limitations and unmet needs in the context of SARS-CoV-2 research.

We asked scientists around the globe for their views on the basic research methods, tools and resources needed to fight future emerging pathogenic threats.