Large scale multiplexing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes using nanopore sequencing (updated)

Real-time public health surveillance on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is being performed using genome sequencing, primarily on the MinION from ONT. We present CoronaHiT for multiplexing samples on long read sequenceras, which increases the number of genomes which can be sequenced in a single experiment. CoronaHiT is a simpler method with less steps,requires less reagents, and is less labour intensive, with a higher barcoderecovery rate, making it faster and cheaper than standard methods. We present the results of sequencing SARS-CoV-2 genomes on a single MinION flowcelland show that the results are comparable to other ONT multiplexing methods and Illumina.