High sensitivity detection of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 using multiplex PCR and a multiplex-PCR-based metagenomic method

Chenyu Li; David N. Debruyne; Julia Spencer; Vidushi Kapoor; Lily Y. Liu; Bo Zhou; Lucie Lee; Rounak Feigelman; Grayson Burdon; Jeffrey Liu; Alejandra Oliva; Adam Borcherding; Hongdong Tan; Alexander E. Urban; Guoying Liu; Zhitong Liu

Therefore, it is necessary to develop robust, sensitive, specific and highly quantitative methods for the delivery of reliable diagnostic assays 26, 27 . The urgency to develop an effective surveillance method that can be easily used in a variety of laboratory settings is underlined by the wide and rapid spreading of SARS-CoV-2 [28] [29] [30] . In addition, such method should also distinguish SARS-CoV-2 from other respiratory pathogens such as influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, human metapneumovirus, SARS coronavirus, etc., as well as mycoplasma pneumoniae, chlamydia pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia [31] [32] [33] [34] . Furthermore, providing nucleotide sequence information through next generation sequencing (NGS) will prove to be essential for the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2's evolution [35] [36] [37] [38] . Indeed, SARS-CoV-2 phylogenetic studies through genome sequence analysis have provided better understanding of the transmission origin, time and routes, which has guided policy-making and management procedures 8, 36, 37, [39] [40] [41] .