VirusSeq SARS-CoV-2 Genome Sequences

The mission of Canadian COVID Genomics Network (CanCOGeN) is to establish a coordinated pan-Canadian, cross-agency network for large-scale SARS-CoV-2 and human host sequencing to track viral origin, spread and evolution, characterize the role of human genetics in COVID-19 disease and to inform time-sensitive critical decision making relevant to health authorities across Canada during the pandemic. CanCOGeN’s VirusSeq project aims to sequence up to 150,000 viral samples from people testing positive for COVID-19 with more coordination of viral sequencing and associated clinical/epidemiological data collection between provinces and internationally. This effort will improve tracking of how the virus is changing and spreading, providing key data on virus transmission trends and changes in the virus that may impact viral detection or the effectiveness of treatments or vaccines.

As SARS-CoV-2—the causative agent of COVID-19—spreads between individuals, the virus continues to mutate. Tracking these changes is possible through genome sequencing of the virus. This data contains the unaligned reads in .fasta format for all available Cancogen samples.

The last_updated column will change under these circumstances: 1) When a sample first has its lineage assigned; 2) When pangolin or its data versions are updated; 3) When a sample's data fasta file is updated. If pangolin data is updated and the lineage assigned remains the same, this column will still change.