SARS-CoV-2 testing in the community: Testing positive samples with the TaqMan SARS-CoV-2 mutation panel to find variants in real time

Fiona Ashford, Angus Best, Steven J. Dunn, Zahra Ahmed, Henna Siddiqui, Jordan Melville, Samuel Wilkinson, Jeremy Mirza, Nicola Cumley, Joanne Stockton, Jack Ferguson, Lucy Wheatley, Elizabeth Ratcliffe, Anna Casey, Tim Plant, Joshua Quick, Alex Richter, Nicholas Loman, Alan McNally, The COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Genome sequencing is a powerful tool for identifying SARS-CoV-2 variant lineages; however, there can be limitations due to sequence dropout when used to identify specific key mutations. Recently, ThermoFisher Scientific has developed genotyping assays to help bridge the gap between testing capacity and sequencing capability to generate real-time genotyping results based on specific variants. Over a 6-week period during the months of April and May 2021, we set out to assess the ThermoFisher TaqMan mutation panel genotyping assay, initially for three mutations of concern and then for an additional two mutations of concern, against SARS-CoV-2- positive clinical samples and the corresponding COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK) sequencing data. We demonstrate that genotyping is a powerful in-depth technique for identifying specific mutations, is an excellent complement to genome sequencing, and has real clinical health value potential, allowing laboratories to report and take action on variants of concern much more quickly.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere02408-21
JournalJournal of Clinical Microbiology
Volume60
Issue number4
Early online date4 Apr 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Apr 2022

Keywords

  • genome sequencing
  • genotyping
  • PCR
  • real time
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • SNPs
  • variants of concern

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