This protocol describes the amplification of the VP1 region, sample barcoding and library preparation. We anticipate users will have performed an RNA extraction prior to this protocol to extract Poliovirus RNA. We recommend the MagMAX Viral RNA Isolation Kit used either manually or carried out on the KingFisher Duo or Flex.
To allow a simplified protocol, we use a 96-well primer plate with 5µM barcoded Y7 primer and 5µM barcoded Q8 primer in each well to give a total primer concentration of 10µM.
Each well contains Q8 and Y7 primers with the same unique barcode e.g A1 = Y7 with barcode 1 and Q8 with barcode 1, A2 = Y7 with barcode 2 and Q8 with barcode 2, etc.
The full set of 96 barcoded primer sequences are shown in Dataset_S1 of Shaw et al, 2020 and in the attached spreadsheet.
BarcodedPrimers.xlsx20KB Before starting the process, it is essential that you decontaminate all surfaces and equipment, such as pipettes, to avoid contamination of your PCR reactions or sequencing library.
For decontaminating where you set up the RT-PCR, you can use a specific cleaning agent, such as RNAse Zap (AM9782, Invitrogen), in combination with 70% ethanol.
When setting up the PCR nest and sequencing library, you can wipe surfaces and pipettes with a DNA specific agent, such as DNA Zap (AM9890, Invitrogen), and 70% ethanol.