Addressing the global challenges of Coronavirus outbreaks
Benefits
- Broadly applicable to Betacoronavirus, including SARS-CoV-2
- Cloud-based, multi-user enabling collaborative surveillance networks
- Easy to use tools supporting diagnostics, vaccines, and therapies
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted unprecedented global health emergency responses. Genetic analyses of SARS-CoV-2 and other Coronaviridae have an increasingly important role to play, both in the current fight against COVID-19 and in preventing future epidemics of Coronaviridae. While SARS-CoV-2 is the current focus, this virus exists in the context of other Alpha- and Beta-coronavirus which are found in different hosts, have created serious outbreaks in the past, and will do so again. Understanding the genetic diversity of Coronaviridae is essential for the development of sensitive and specific diagnostics, for selecting effective therapies and vaccine targets, and for surveillance and monitoring of outbreaks.
To this end, SmartGene’s Coronavirus Module features the following: automated pipelines for shotgun Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) of Coronaviridae; detection of minority variants by deep sequencing; a comprehensive, frequently updated reference database containing representative strains; and a configurable, searchable sample archive to store sequences and metadata.
Use the integrated bioinformatics to compare and align sequences, plot dendrograms, search mutation patterns and sequence motifs, and detect mutations and genetic patterns relevant for inferring virulence, pathogenicity, spread, and evolving drug resistance.
To maintain our reference databases, SmartGene’s proprietary, profile-based extraction logic is used to curate data from the public domain by filtering out records with unreliable sequences and erroneous annotations.
Up-to-date, trusted, and curated databases thus enable the study of viral genetic diversity in a reliable and routine manner reflecting new strains of Coronaviridae, evolving genetic diversity, and quasi-species.
Importantly for public health interventions and other surveillance needs, the SmartGene IDNS® Data Collector combines Web and database technology to enable secure, multisite collaborative networks, and the creation of large, longitudinal, cohort databases.