COVID-19: Enhancing testing and sequencing capacity for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 and other zoonotic viruses at the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

Project Summary/Abstract Enhancing testing and sequencing capacity for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 and other zoonotic viruses at the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory The Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (MVDL) has the capability of testing for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR. The MVDL was critical during the first phase of the response to the pandemic by testing human samples while the state of Minnesota acquired the capacity to respond to the testing needs. The MVDL is the reference laboratory for SARS-CoV-2 testing in animal samples in Minnesota. This proposal requests funding for equipment to improve laboratory capacity to test for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR and to sequence positive samples. These improvements would also benefit the capacity to respond to other zoonotic diseases. The SARS-CoV-2 PCR test is currently performed in an Applied Biosystems 7500 thermal cycler, which can test 93 samples at a time. To improve the efficiency of the process, we propose to purchase a Quantstudio 6 Pro thermal cycler, which can process 378 samples at a time. Sequencing of SARS-Co-2-positive samples is an important component of disease surveillance. Sequencing allows for identification of new variants and monitoring of variants of concern. The MVDL performs routine sequencing for multiple viral pathogens, and could easily start sequencing SARS-CoV-2 if needed. The MVDL has expertise sequencing viruses from a wide variety of specimens, some with low amounts of DNA/RNA. The initial PCR amplification step performed as part of the sequencing process is currently done with ABI 9700 GenAmp PCR instruments, which are old and do not have maintenance and repair parts available anymore. Therefore, we propose to purchase a Proflex 96-well thermal cycler from Life Technologies/Thermo Fisher. The addition of this instrument will add sequencing capacity to the lab so SARS-CoV-2 sequencing can be performed in addition to the routine sequencing procedures currently being run.