Integrated DNA technologies launches complete NGS library preparation solution for monkeypox

With the World Health Organization declaring the monkeypox virus (MPXV) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and more than 47,000 total cases across 99 countries reported to date and growing, Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) is supporting researchers conducting monkeypox surveillance with a new next generation sequencing (NGS) solution. Designed as part of IDT’s NGS Tech Access, the program is intended to accelerate innovation by enabling access to the most advanced research tools that are still in development.

The xGen™ Monkeypox Virus Amplicon Panel is a complete NGS library preparation solution that supports the genotyping of MPXV within a sample. Leveraging IDT’s well-established NGS amplicon technology, the single-tube workflow creates overlapping amplicons, goes from sample to sequencer in 2.5 hours with up to 1,536 unique dual indexing (UDIs) for multiplexed sequencing, and helps pinpoint evolving epidemiological patterns.

“With monkeypox cases continuing to rise, IDT responded with a new solution to support global efforts across the scientific community—because more discoveries can lead to better prevention and mitigation strategies,” said Steven Henck, vice president of R&D. “At IDT, we focus on using our team’s ability to deliver the right tools when they are needed because we believe that supporting and advancing the global research community benefits us all. The addition of the NGS monkeypox amplicon panel reinforces our mission to accelerate the pace of genomics and we’re proud to help researchers reliably identify and track the evolution of monkeypox.”

NGS surveillance powered by super amplicons

The infectious disease monitoring and surveillance field continues to face unprecedented pressure for accuracy and increased speed. IDT’s xGen Monkeypox Virus Amplicon Panel is a single-tube workflow that generates contiguous tiling of overlapping amplicons. Super amplicons enable novel variant discovery by maintaining genomic coverage even if a novel variant occurs under a primer binding site, which may disrupt a primer’s ability to bind. IDT tested the panel with commercially available monkeypox DNA and demonstrated coverage of positions 6760–190,905 (inverted-terminal repeats (ITRs) not included). Data can be generated from extracted viral DNA following a 2.5-hour workflow from viral DNA to libraries. The xGen Monkeypox Viral Amplicon Panel is also compatible with IDT Normalase™ technology.

“As part of IDT’s NGS Tech Access Program, our team was able to acquire the xGen Monkeypox Virus Amplicon Panel and were enthused to see the promising sequencing data it generated for our research,” said Efrem Lim, Ph.D., associate professor at Arizona State University. “Given the importance of understanding infectious disease evolution, we recognize the outstanding work of partners like IDT who leverage their deep genomics expertise to provide cutting-edge NGS solutions that enable research, especially in our public health response to the monkeypox outbreak.”

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