Targeted Hybridization Capture of SARS-CoV-2 and Metagenomics Enables Genetic Variant Discovery and Nasal Microbiome Insights
Dorottya Nagy‐Szakal, Mara Couto-Rodriguez, Heather Wells, Joseph Barrows, Marilyne Debieu, Kristin Butcher, Siyuan Chen, Agnes Berki, Courteny Hager, Robert J. Boorstein, Mariah K. Taylor, Colleen B. Jonsson, Christopher E. Mason, Niamh B. O’Hara
Abstract
This is the first FDA emergency-use-authorized hybridization capture-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay to detect the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Viral metagenomics and the novel hybrid capture NGS-based assay, along with its research-use-only analysis, can provide important genetic insights into SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens and improve surveillance and early detection, potentially preventing or mitigating new outbreaks. Better understanding of the continuously evolving SARS-CoV-2 viral genome and the impact of genetic variants may provide individual risk stratification, precision therapeutic options, improved molecular diagnostics, and population-based therapeutic solutions.