Tamil Nadu Health Minister M. Subramaniam has said that the Dr. MGR Medical University, which has a nationally accredited microbiology and immunology lab will soon get a whole genome sequencing lab.<br />'' <br />''Speaking to reporters after a review meeting, the Health Minister said that the lab will soon be functional and will track mutation of SARS-Cov-2.<br />'' <br />''AIR correspondent reports, Tamil Nadu Dr MGR University has accredited labs for diagnosis and research on diseases such as Chikungunya, dengue and leptospirosis and has been carrying out RT -PCR tests for COVID-19.<br />'' <br />''The University has necessary equipment and would be able to start work if they are provided with consumables. Presently, the state sends samples to the Bengaluru-based instem as per the recommendations of the Centre.<br />'' <br />''Instem is a part of the INSACOG which is a consortium of labs that track the presence of variants in COVID samples.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">The Directorate of Public Health had proposed to set up a whole genome sequencing lab at Dr. MGR University to keep a close track of the mutations.</span><br />