COVID genome sequencing hit by sample shortage

Sequencing capacity is up to 1,000 samples a day, but we are getting only 50-60, says CSIR-CCMB director

Three months into the formation of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) of top 10 regional labs of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, they are yet to get sufficient number of samples from COVID-positive patients from both government and private healthcare centres. “In the last few months, the funds have come by and necessary reagent purchases have been made. Coordination among the labs is improving too. However, we are not getting the required number of samples. It is about 50-60 samples a day when we can do genome sequence up to 1,000 samples. Efforts are being made for samples to be received by the labs to sequence the maximum and get the best outcome of that,” discloses CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) director Rakesh Mishra. CCMB and Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) are among the 10 labs chosen by the Centre for genome sequencing of COVID-19 samples.