Part of: GS Prelims and Mains II and III – Govt policies and initiatives; Social/Health issue; Science and Technology
Context:
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to develop “mega labs” to ramp up testing for COVID-19
The labs will use repurposing large machines, called Next Generation Sequencing machines (NGS).
About Next Generation Sequencing machines (NGS)
They are normally used for sequencing human genomes or DNA sequencing.
Next-generation sequencing machines or instruments are as mentioned as DNA microarrays, real-time PCR and DNA chips and reagents.
These machines can substantially detect the presence of the COVID virus even in several instances where the traditional RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests fail.
Do you know?
Next-generation sequencing, also known as high-throughput sequencing, is the term used to describe a number of different modern sequencing technologies including Illumina (Solexa) sequencing, Roche 454 sequencing, Ion torrent: Proton / PGM sequencing, solid sequencing.
Important Value Additions:
About Genome sequencing:
Genome sequencing is a process to figure out order of DNA nucleotides or bases in a genome.
This means the order of As, Cs, Gs, and Ts, a unique combination of which makes up an organism’s DNA.
After the genome is sequenced, the data is analysed to understand the genetic information of an entire species.
Difference betweenNext Generation Sequencing machines (NGS) and RTPCR test
RT-PCR test identifies the SARSCoV2 virus by exploring only specific sections, whereas the genome method can read a bigger chunk of virus genome and thereby provide more certainty that the virus in question is indeed the particular coronavirus of interest.
NGS test can also trace the evolutionary history of the virus and track mutations more reliably.
Unlike the RT-PCR that needs primers and probes — a key hurdle in operationalising such tests on a mass scale early on in the pandemic — the NGS only needs custom reagents.
