** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS 2 (SARS?COV?2) DEMONSTRATED THE ABILITY TO INFECT MANY ANIMAL SPECIES. WIDESPREAD NATURAL SARS-COV-2 INFECTION OF WHITE-TAILED DEER IN THE USA RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT THEIR ROLE AS A RESERVOIR OF SARS-COV-2. AS THE VIRUS CONTINUES TO CIRCULATE IN ANIMALS, IT IS LIKELY TO MUTATE AND COULD THREATEN THE HEALTH OF AGRICULTURAL ANIMALS. THEREFORE, IT IS CRITICAL TO MONITOR THE NATURAL SARS-COV-2 INFECTION OF ANIMALS AND THE GENETIC CHANGES IN THE VIRUS. CURRENT METHODS FOR DETECTING AND GENETIC SEQUENCING OF SARS-COV-2 REQUIRE EXPENSIVE INSTRUMENTATION, ARE NOT STANDARDIZED FOR ANIMAL SAMPLES, AND ARE UNSUITABLE FOR FIELD APPLICATION. HENCE, THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE HIGHLY SENSITIVE, COST-EFFECTIVE, AND FLEXIBLE NANOPORE-BASED MOLECULAR METHODS TO MONITOR THE CIRCULATION OF SARS-COV-2 IN AGRICULTURAL ANIMALS. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT EFFECTIVE SURVEILLANCE OF SARS-COV-2 INFECTION OF ANIMALS THROUGH THE RAPID DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SARS-COV-2.