Massive Multiplexing Can Deliver a $1 Test for COVID-19

  1. Paul DN Hebert
  2. Sean WJ Prosser
  3. Natalia V Ivanova
  4. Evgeny V Zakharov
  5. Sujeevan Ratnasingham

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Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome virus, SARS-CoV-2 (hereafter COVID-19), rapidly achieved global pandemic status, provoking large-scale screening programs in many nations. Their activation makes it imperative to identify methods that can deliver a diagnostic result at low cost. This paper describes an approach which employs sequence variation in the gene coding for its envelope protein as the basis for a scalable, inexpensive test for COVID-19. It achieves this by coupling a simple RNA extraction protocol with low-volume RT-PCR, followed by E-Gel screening and sequencing on high-throughput platforms to analyze 10,000 samples in a run. Slight modifications to the protocol could support screening programs for other known viruses and for viral discovery. Just as the $1,000 genome is transforming medicine, a $1 diagnostic test for viral and bacterial pathogens would represent a major advance for public health.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.05.05.079400: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No funding statement was detected.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.05.05.079400v1 on bioRxiv