RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by multiplex RT-qPCR
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.06.16.155887
DO 10.1101/2020.06.16.155887
A1 Eriko Kudo
A1 Benjamin Israelow
A1 Chantal B.F. Vogels
A1 Peiwen Lu
A1 Anne L. Wyllie
A1 Maria Tokuyama
A1 Arvind Venkataraman
A1 Doug E Brackney
A1 Isabel M. Ott
A1 Mary E. Petrone
A1 Rebecca Earnest
A1 Sarah Lapidus
A1 M. Catherine Muenker
A1 Adam J. Moore
A1 Arnau Casanovas-Massana
A1 Yale IMPACT Research Team
A1 Saad B. Omer
A1 Charles S. Dela Cruz
A1 Shelli F. Farhadian
A1 Albert I. Ko
A1 Nathan D. Grubaugh
A1 Akiko Iwasaki
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/06/17/2020.06.16.155887.abstract
AB The current RT-qPCR assay recommended for SARS-CoV-2 testing in the United States requires analysis of three genomic targets per sample: two viral and one host. To simplify testing and reduce the volume of required reagents, we developed a multiplex RT-qPCR assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 in a single reaction. We used existing N1, N2, and RP primer and probe sets by the CDC, but substituted fluorophores to allow multiplexing of the assay. The cycle threshold (Ct) values of our multiplex RT-qPCR were comparable to those obtained by the singleplex assay adapted for research purposes. Low copies (>500 copies / reaction) of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were consistently detected by the multiplex RT-qPCR. Our novel multiplex RT-qPCR improves upon current singleplex diagnostics by saving reagents, costs, time and labor.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.