AUTHOR=Vanoni Simone , Matulevicius Arnoldas , Avdiu Besard , Scantamburlo Giada , Ulekleiv Camilla , Brzoska Pius M. , Furtado Manohar R. , Feenstra Jelena D. M. , Rico Alain , Gandhi Manoj , Giacobazzi Elisabetta , Masi Elisa , Paulmichl Markus , Nofziger Charity 

TITLE=SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern surveillance including Omicron using RT-PCR–based genotyping offers comparable performance to whole genome sequencing

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.960065

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.960065

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>Known SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) can be detected and differentiated using an RT-PCR–based genotyping approach, which offers quicker time to result, lower cost, higher flexibility, and use of the same laboratory instrumentation for detection of SARS-CoV-2 when compared with whole genome sequencing (WGS). In the current study, we demonstrate how we applied a genotyping approach for identification of all VOCs and that such technique can offer comparable performance to WGS for identification of known SARS-CoV-2 VOCs, including more recent strains, Omicron BA.1 and BA.2.</p>