Whole‐genome single molecule real‐time sequencing of SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron

Abstract

AbstractNew variants and genetic mutations of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) genome can only be identified using accurate sequencing methods. Single molecule real‐time (SMRT) sequencing has been used to characterize Alpha and Delta variants, but not Omicron variants harboring numerous mutations in the SARS‐CoV‐2 genome. This study assesses the performance of a target capture SMRT sequencing protocol for whole genome sequencing (WGS) of SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron variants and compared it to that of an amplicon SMRT sequencing protocol optimized for Omicron variants. The failure rate of the target capture protocol (6%) was lower than that of the amplicon protocol (34%, p < 0.001) on our data set, and the median genome coverage with the target capture protocol (98.6% [interquartile range (IQR): 86–99.4]) was greater than that with the amplicon protocol (76.6% [IQR: 66–89.6], [p < 0.001]). The percentages of samples with >95% whole genome coverage were 64% with the target capture protocol and 19% with the amplicon protocol (p < 0.05). The clades of 96 samples determined with both protocols were 93% concordant and the lineages of 59 samples were 100% concordant. Thus, target capture SMRT sequencing appears to be an efficient method for WGS, genotyping and detecting mutations of SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron variants.