Wastewater Sequencing—An Innovative Method for Variant Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in Populations

Michal Tamáš (), Alena Potocarova, Barbora Konecna, Ľubos Klucar and Tomas Mackulak
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Michal Tamáš: Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radinského 9, 81237 Bratislava, Slovakia
Alena Potocarova: Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Sasinkova 4, 81108 Bratislava, Slovakia
Barbora Konecna: Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Sasinkova 4, 81108 Bratislava, Slovakia
Ľubos Klucar: Institute of Molecular Biology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská Cesta 21, 84551 Bratislava, Slovakia
Tomas Mackulak: Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radinského 9, 81237 Bratislava, Slovakia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has already affected more than 555 million people, and 6.3 million people have died. Due to its high infectivity, it is crucial to track SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks early to prevent the spread of infection. Wastewater monitoring appears to be a powerful and effective tool for managing epidemiological situations. Due to emerging mutations of SARS-CoV-2, there is a need to monitor mutations in order to control the pandemic. Since the sequencing of randomly chosen individuals is time-consuming and expensive, sequencing of wastewater plays an important role in revealing the dynamics of infection in a population. The sampling method used is a crucial factor and significantly impacts the results. Wastewater can be collected as a grab sample or as a 24 h composite sample. Another essential factor is the sample volume, as is the method of transport used. This review discusses different pretreatment procedures and RNA extraction, which may be performed using various methods, such as column-based extraction, TRIzol, or magnetic extraction. Each of the methods has its advantages and disadvantages, which are described accordingly. RT-qPCR is a procedure that confirms the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genes before sequencing. This review provides an overview of currently used methods for preparing wastewater samples, from sampling to sequencing.

Keywords: COVID-19; sampling; RNA extraction; RT-qPCR; mutations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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