J. R. Tyson, P. James, D. Stoddart, N. Sparks, A. Wickenhagen, G. Hall, J. Choi, H. Lapointe, Kimia Kamelian, Andrew Smith, N. Prystajecky, I. Goodfellow, Sam J Wilson, R. Harrigan, T. Snutch, N. Loman, J. Quick
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2020
Genome sequencing has been widely deployed to study the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 with more than 90,000 genome sequences uploaded to the GISAID database. We published a method for SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing (https://www.protocols.io/view/ncov-2019-sequencing-protocol-bbmuik6w) online on January 22, 2020. This approach has rapidly become the most popular method for sequencing SARS-CoV-2 due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. Here we present improvements to the original protocol: i) an updated primer scheme with 22 additional primers to improve genome coverage, ii) a streamlined library preparation workflow which improves demultiplexing rate for up to 96 samples and reduces hands-on time by several hours and iii) cost savings which bring the reagent cost down to £10 per sample making it practical for individual labs to sequence thousands of SARS-CoV-2 genomes to support national and international genomic epidemiology efforts.
Cited by 81 publications.
Field of study: Computer Science