Mega lab and Genome sequence

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is working on developing “mega labs” to ramp up testing for COVID-19 as well as improve the accuracy rate.

Concept:

• These labs will be repurposing large machines, called Next Generation Sequencing machines (NGS), which are normally used for sequencing human genomes, to sequence 1,500 to 3,000 viral genomes at a go to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• They can substantially detect the presence of the virus even in several instances where the traditional RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests fail.
• RT-PCR test identifies the SARS-CoV-2 virus by exploring only specific sections, whereas the genome method can read a bigger chunk of virus genome and thereby provide more certainty that the virus is present
• It can also trace the evolutionary history of the virus and track mutations more reliably.
• Unlike the RT-PCR that needs primers and probes, a key hurdle in operationalising such tests on a mass scale early on in the pandemic, the NGS only needs custom reagents.