Method for identifying vertebrate viruses using multiplexed, high-throughput genome sequencing

This technology is a virome capture sequencing platform that uses multiplexed genome sequencing to detect and identify vertebrate viruses.

Unmet Need: Cost-effective, efficient, and sensitive virus identification and discovery

Identification of viruses and viral diseases is critical for public and global health. PCR-based viral diagnostic assays have gained traction for being cost-effective and easy to utilize, but provide limited information when used in a targeted approach. A sensitive and efficient method for identifying a wide variety of vertebrate viruses and their genetic variants is necessary to improve diagnosis and illuminate diseases with currently unidentified viral causes.

The Technology: Multiplexed, high-throughput viral genome sequencing platform

This technology, known as the Virome-Capture-Sequencing platform for Vertebrate viruses (VirCapSeq-VERT), enables multiplexed genome sequencing of hundreds of known and novel vertebrate viruses. VirCapSeq-VERT features a library of 2 million probes that can be used to sequence samples for viral diagnosis and discovery. The platform can be used in both clinical and research settings to provide cost-effective, efficient, and sensitive viral detection. This technology has been validated with human patient samples and has identified viruses that were up to 50% genetically different than known viruses used for designing the probe library.

Applications:

• Clinical tool to diagnose patients with viral infections
• Clinical/research tool to discover and characterize new viruses and their genetic variants
• Research tool to survey viral infections among human and animal populations

Advantages:

• Cost-effective
• High sensitivity for detecting viral variants
• More efficient than targeted approaches
• Suitable for use in both clinical and research settings
• Capable of detecting novel viruses and sequencing their complete genome

Lead Inventor:

W. Ian Lipkin, M.D.

Patent information:

Patent Issued (US 10,815,536)

Related Publications:

• Tokarz R, Hyams JS, Mack DR, Boyle B, Griffiths AM, LeLeiko NS, Sauer CG, Shah S, Markowitz J, Baker SS, Rosh J, Baldassano RN, Kugathasan S, Walters T, Tagliafierro T, Sameroff S, Lee B, Che X, Oleynik A, Denson LA, Lipkin WI. “Characterization of stool virome in children newly diagnosed with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.” Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2019 Sep 18; 25(10): 1656-1662.

• Briese T, Kapoor A, Mishra N, Jain K, Kumar A, Jabado OJ, Lipkin WI. "Virome capture sequencing enables sensitive viral diagnosis and comprehensive virome analysis." MBio. 2015 Sep 22; 6(5): e01491-15.

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU16058, CU18200, CU18221

• Licensing Contact: Kristin Neuman