Dear Anita

Thank you for the insightful comments, I was reading about how scientists are trying to sequence the DNA genome of people infected with the coronavirus so they could understand how the virus spreads in the body, that may be why I got mixed up and thought coronavirus used DNA as its genetic material when it is in fact RNA instead. Thank you  for your correction. Some scientists are suggesting that people who have recovered from the coronavirus have their DNA genomes sequenced to understand how coronavirus affects the immune system cells in a person’s body and perhaps to understand why some people display more serious symptoms than others. According to Coronavirus: sequencing the “DNA of patients screened for coronavirus might save lives” article, the author says that sequencing the DNA genome of people may provide insight on specific DNA patterns in individuals that may be affected strongly by the coronavirus and it can help raise awareness of people who need to take extra precautions to prevent getting the disease which might help save lives. However, scientists are still uncertain if a person’s risks to the coronavirus are affected by their genes. But it would still be helpful to compare the DNA genomes of people who experienced severe symptoms of coronavirus with people who had mild symptoms to see if there were any genes in the person’s body that affected immune system function leading to some people having more susceptibility to coronavirus. I find this quite interesting, maybe scientists can sequence some DNA sequences of people with coronavirus and make genetic predictions to see the likelihood of certain people getting coronavirus symptoms and how severe they might be. Even though the human genome is 3.2 billion base pairs, it may be helpful to use polymerase chain reaction (pcr) to target a specific DNA sequence in human cells to determine whether some people are more likely to get coronavirus because pcr allows scientists make many copies of a specific DNA sequence that they can analyze in the laboratory to see if there are certain DNA portions that are similar in people who have severe symptoms of coronavirus in a shorter period of time. The article that mentioned sequencing DNA of coronavirus patients is from theconversation.com with the title “Coronavirus: sequencing the DNA of patients screened for coronavirus might save lives” published in March 17, 2020.