SHENZHEN, Mar. 2, 2021 --WHO has called on many countries to “build and boost”genomic surveillance. MGI is actively joining hands with leading research collaborators contributing to the genomic surveillance in multiple countries.In March 2020, the Korea Institute of Basic Sciences RNA Research Center and Seoul National University released the high-definition mapping of the COVID-19 transcriptome and epigenetic transcriptome generated from MGI’s DNBSEQ-G50 platform.

In Genomic Sequencing in Pandemics, the Lancet commented that knowing the “viral RNA sequence was key in characterizing” the virus and develop the “diagnostics” in the early days, and also contributed to the “vaccine development”, however there are “profound disparities between different countries in the ability to sequence genomes”that “threatens all countries' ability to monitor and respond”to the emergence of new variants.

In March 2020, Karolinska Institutet announced the establishment of a 10,000-person multi-omics laboratory for COVID-19 testing in Stockholm, Sweden. The lab is equipped with MGI’s high-throughput automated virus nucleic acid extraction equipment MGISP-960 and ultra-high-throughput gene sequencer DNBSEQ-T7. The Head of the National Pandemic Center Dr. Jessica Alm said, “the super sequencer flown in from China, boasts a sequencing throughput eight (8) times more than other sequencers.” Professor Lars Engstrand added, “Through sequencing of the host (human) of the virus in multi-omics dimensions, it can also help us better understand the pathogenesis and provide an important reference for clinical diagnosis and vaccine development.”

In June 2020, Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute of Thailand used a combined approach of RT-PCR nucleic acid detection technology and high-throughput sequencing technology to confirm the diagnosis of suspected COVID-19 cases and launched a follow-up research program using the DNBSEQ-G50 platform.

As reported on LSM.lv Latvia’s national television, when the second COVID-19 wave hit Latvia last autumn, the country’s testing capacity proved insufficient. MGI provided BIOR(Latvia’s Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment), with automated DNA extraction equipment to increase its testing capacity.

In December 2020, China’s first case of new COVID-19 variant originating from overseas was detected in a returning student. The patient sample was sequenced using DNBSEQ-G50 platform.

The Lancet pointed out that, “real-time genomic surveillance is a key tool in the public health measures. In any outbreak it must be widely adopted, focused on seamless open data sharing, and form a foundation of the health response.”

Reference: The original article published in The Lancet on February 6, 2021.