Sequencing of tick-borne viral disease agents in Kazakhstan
Abstract
Our team proposes coordinating research tasks through the Kazakh National Centre for Biotechnology (NCB) that will lead and ultimately own a collaborative training program, engaging with various institutes and Kazakh ministries at the Central Reference Laboratory (CRL). Our team will use this approach to generate viral sequences that will be shared with the global community. Earlier projects in Kazakhstan used exchange of genomic sequences rather than actual samples, which were difficult to share. This sequencing study will sustainably reinforce national diagnostic capability by upgrading their existing qPCR assays to be able to detect novel viruses, following modifications based on contemporary genomic data. We will tailor a standard workflow for Kazakhstan which can be used for tick-borne disease and applied to many other disease targets. Outputs will give the US DoD, Kazakh and UK health authorities essential new information to better prepare and control future TBE and CCHF outbreaks, contributing in a sustainable way to enhance biological threat reduction. TBEV and CCHFV RNA will be prepared from tick pools and human blood collected by our Kazakh partners and made available to us for this project. The RNA is assayed by qPCR and samples with sufficient material (Ct of 30 or less) are then analyzed in the MinION using an amplicon/metagenomic approach, overseen by PHE. The specific current change signals from the MinION are passed to MinKNOW software from which data can be base-called by a range of different software.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 13, 2021
- Source ID
- HDTRA12110024
Entities
People
- John Hay
Organizations
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- University at Buffalo