New England Biolabs® Introduces ARTIC Products for SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing

New kits improve upon well-established ARTIC protocols for SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing with optimized reagents and improved uniformity of coverage depth for Illumina® and Oxford Nanopore Technologies® next generation sequencing (NGS) platforms

IPSWICH, Mass, February 25, 2021 — New England Biolabs (NEB®) today released three kits based on the ARTIC Network protocols for multiplexed amplicon-based sequencing of viral RNA: NEBNext® ARTIC SARS-CoV-2 Library Prep Kit and NEBNext ARTIC SARS-CoV-2 FS Library Prep Kit, both for Illumina sequencing; and NEBNext ARTIC SARS-CoV-2 Companion Kit for Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing. The kits offer streamlined, high-efficiency protocols with balanced V3 primers and optimized reagents for uniform viral genome coverage across a range of inputs.

The ARTIC Network, an international consortium of researchers, has developed protocols for the epidemiological monitoring of viral genomes to provide insights into virus evolution and transmission for multiple viral outbreaks. Dr. Joshua Quick of the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, has led the development of protocols applicable to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak based on amplicon sequencing-based approaches previously used for Ebola and Zika virus.

“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ARTIC protocols have been widely adopted by researchers for sequencing the SARS-CoV-2 genome, and more recently have played a key role in helping to track the emergence of new variants,” said Fiona Stewart, Ph.D., Product Portfolio Manager, Next Generation Sequencing at NEB.

 “Working closely with the ARTIC Network, we developed the NEBNext ARTIC SARS-CoV-2 kits for labs with all levels of experience sequencing SARS-CoV-2. The uniformity of genome coverage from the balanced primers enables rapid, cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 sequencing.”

Read the full Press Release here.