A tool developed at Canada’s McMaster University can help the public health community determine how the coronavirus is spreading and whether it is evolving. The assay uses a set of bait capture probe sequences to isolate the virus, SARS-CoV-2, from biological samples. While not designed for diagnostic use, the method provides insight into the properties of the isolated virus by application of next-generation sequencing.

The antimicrobial resistance gene bait capture platform can be of value in assessing how the virus evolves over time and how it is transmitted between people. The probe is designed to maximize specificity and sensitivity to SARS-CoV-2 by removing candidate probes that could hybridize to human or bacterial materials present in a sample.

Typically a virus is isolated using costly, time consuming processes including cell culturing at contained labs with trained specialists, resources which are not always available or affordable in many areas. The faster, simpler sequencing tool can remove some of these barriers and support widespread testing.

Software, high resolution copies of images and the complete set of SARS-CoV-2 hybridization probe sequences are publicly available.