PCR assay to enhance global surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

ABSTRACT: With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants that may increase transmissibility and/or cause escape from immune responses ^1-3 , there is an urgent need for the targeted surveillance of circulating lineages. It was found that the B.1.1.7 (also 501Y.V1) variant first detected in the UK ^4,5 could be serendipitously detected by the ThermoFisher TaqPath COVID-19 PCR assay because a key deletion in these viruses, spike Δ69-70, would cause a "spike gene target failure" (SGTF) result. However, a SGTF result is not definitive for B.1.1.7, and this assay cannot detect other variants of concern that lack spike Δ69-70, such as B.1.351 (also 501Y.V2) detected in South Africa ⁶ and P.1 (also 501Y.V3) recently detected in Brazil ⁷ . We identified a deletion in the

SUBMITTER: Vogels CBF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7987060 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature