Designing of multiple diagnostic primers for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant (B.1.1.529/BA)

The world is facing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and COVID-19 disease with more than 63 lakh mortalities as of 7th June 2022. Multiple variants and lineages of SARS-CoV-2 were evolved. Recently on 24th November 2021, a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, named Omicron (B.1.1.529/BA, Pango lineage) was reported with a high number of mutations on spike protein and further classified as a variant of concern. It is very critical to detect and diagnose variants timely and effectively. We have designed multiple sets of diagnostic primers and probes specific for the Omicron variant utilizing the spike region. In total, we are providing 24 sets of diagnostic primers for the Real-Time RT-PCR with associated probes. Further, 32 sets of primers were also provided for PCR assays. For all the primers, forward-reverse sequences, start-end, Tm, and product length are also provided. These could be utilized and tested for omicron detection. Similarly, we also provide experimentally employed primer/probe data sets for RT-PCR and nested RT-PCR of omicron variants. We anticipate this effort would be useful for the scientific community and fulfill a much-needed requirement.