What to know
The University of Minnesota provided real-time next-generation sequencing and analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in Minnesota. Awarded in 2021, this project established the University of Minnesota Genomics Center (UMGC) as a regional SARS-CoV-2 sequencing hub and facilitated a low-cost and high-output genomic sequencing method. In addition, the project provided research on how the host and virus interact with one another during infection, as well as the potential for reinfection.
![Decorative image with words "2021" and "SARS-CoV-2"](/advanced-molecular-detection/media/images/BAA_thumbnail_2021.jpg)
Findings on SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and investigations
Researchers created a cost-effective and highly scalable tailed amplicon method for SARS-CoV-2 sequencing.1 They then used this method to sequence >7,500 SARS-CoV-2 samples from across the Midwest. Researchers also made this protocol and the primer pools used to carry out the method available to laboratories in the SPHERES consortium.
- An online protocol for the tailed amplicon method is available: SARS-CoV-2 Tailed Amplicon Illumina Sequencing V.2
- A Rapid, Cost-Effective Tailed Amplicon Method for Sequencing SARS-CoV-2. BMC Genomics, 2020.