Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36046362›Full record

ArticleBiology methods & protocols2022

STArS (STrain-Amplicon-Seq), a targeted nanopore sequencing workflow for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics and genotyping.

Simone Maestri, Valentina Grosso, Massimiliano Alfano, Denise Lavezzari, Chiara Piubelli, Zeno Bisoffi, Marzia Rossato, Massimo Delledonne

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biology methods & protocols, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 57% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Simone MaestriDepartment of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1192-0684
Valentina GrossoDepartment of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Massimiliano AlfanoDepartment of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Denise LavezzariDepartment of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Chiara PiubelliDepartment of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, 37024 Verona, Italy.
Zeno BisoffiDepartment of Infectious, Tropical Diseases and Microbiology, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, 37024 Verona, Italy.
Marzia RossatoDepartment of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Massimo DelledonneDepartment of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
University of Verona · ITOspedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Diagnostic tests based on reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) are the gold standard approach to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection from clinical specimens. However, unless specifically optimized, this method is usually unable to recognize the specific viral strain responsible of coronavirus disease 2019, a crucial information that is proving increasingly important in relation to virus spread and treatment effectiveness. Even if some RT-qPCR commercial assays are currently being developed for the detection of viral strains, they focus only on single/few genetic variants that may not be sufficient to uniquely identify a specific strain. Therefore, genome sequencing approaches remain the most comprehensive solution for virus genotyping and to recognize viral strains, but their application is much less widespread due to higher costs. Starting from the well-established ARTIC protocol coupled to nanopore sequencing, in this work, we developed STArS (STrain-Amplicon-Seq), a cost/time-effective sequencing-based workflow for both SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics and genotyping. A set of 10 amplicons was initially selected from the ARTIC tiling panel, to cover: (i) all the main biologically relevant genetic variants located on the Spike gene; (ii) a minimal set of variants to uniquely identify the currently circulating strains; (iii) genomic sites usually amplified by RT-qPCR method to identify SARS-CoV-2 presence. PCR-amplified clinical samples (both positive and negative for SARS-CoV-2 presence) were pooled together with a serially diluted exogenous amplicon at known concentration and sequenced on a MinION device. Thanks to a scoring rule, STArS had the capability to accurately classify positive samples in agreement with RT-qPCR results, both at the qualitative and quantitative level. Moreover, the method allowed to effectively genotype strain-specific variants and thus also return the phylogenetic classification of SARS-CoV-2-postive samples. Thanks to the reduced turnaround time and costs, the proposed approach represents a step towards simplifying the clinical application of sequencing for viral genotyping, hopefully aiding in combatting the global pandemic.

Identifiers

PMID36046362
PMCPMC9422081
OpenAlexW4293052154

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.