New SARS-CoV-2 strains are continuing to emerge, potentially impacting the effectiveness of existing vaccines. Thus, the ability to determine the genomic sequences in samples is critical for effective surveillance and tracking of the virus. Because viral RNA represents only a small fraction of the nucleic acids in a given sample, the development of robust, sensitive sequencing methods is essential.

We have developed a method for target-enriched RNA-seq with hybridization-based target enrichment (TE) of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, enabling high-throughput analysis to discover new viral mutations and track strain transmission. The workflow utilizes the KAPA SARS-CoV-2 TE panel and the HyperCap v3 workflow.

In this webinar we:

- Review the HyperCap v3 workflow using the KAPA SARS-CoV-2 TE panel
- Describe an accelerated workflow with a shortened 1 hour hybridization
- Discuss optional workflow modifications to increase SARS-CoV-2 reads
- Present performance data for samples containing varying amounts of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a background of human RNA
- Show that the KAPA SARS-CoV-2 TE panel can detect mutations from multiple strains within a single reaction

Presented by Sarah Trusiak, PhD, Sr. Application Scientist at Roche Sequencing & Life Science