# ITCA ASU-Sequencing of Tribal Wastewater to Assess Coronavirus Variants

> **NIH NIH S06** · INTER TRIBAL COUNCIL OF ARIZONA, INC. · 2021 · $94,364

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The COVID pandemic has been particularly detrimental for Tribal communities across the U.S., who
have experienced mortality rates greater than any other race: American Indians have 256 deaths per
100,000 people compared to 150/100,000 for white Americans. Several factors have been suggested
as contributors to elevated infectivity, including inadequate infrastructure and underlying health
conditions. An additional consideration is the presence of SARS-CoV-2 variants within Tribal
communities, of which little is known as COVID testing and vaccine distribution have been the priorities
of Tribal Health Departments and COVID Response Teams. To determine if variants are present in
Tribal communities, we propose to assess wastewater for excreted coronavirus variants, a non-invasive
approach that will capture community-wide mutations more efficiently than sequencing clinical samples.
Untreated wastewater samples (24-hour composites) will be processed and quantified for coronavirus
using RT-qPCR for the E-gene of SARS-CoV-2. After confirmation of the presence of coronavirus,
extracted RNA will be converted to cDNA and sequenced with primers that cover the entire 30kb
genome. While we are particularly interested in the U.K., South African, and Brazil strains, we will also
report if other U.S. and novel variants are detected in the selected Tribal communities. Nucleotide
mutations will be translated and modelled in silico to determine if the polymorphism(s) result in amino
acid mutagenesis and/or are mapped to key protein regions. Results will be returned to Tribal health
administrators to determine if additional testing of clinical biospecimens is necessary. This NARCH
project will provide critical and timely pandemic information to sensitive populations through scientific
translation and collaboration with Tribal communities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10381408
- **Project number:** 3S06GM127980-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** INTER TRIBAL COUNCIL OF ARIZONA, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Dadgar
- **Activity code:** S06 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $94,364
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-09-14 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10381408

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10381408, ITCA ASU-Sequencing of Tribal Wastewater to Assess Coronavirus Variants (3S06GM127980-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10381408. Licensed CC0.

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