Finding Engineering-Linked Indicators (FELIX)

Under the scope of the Finding Engineering-Linked Indicators program, IARPA is developing new computational and experimental tools to rapidly detect indicators of genome engineering in multiple types of biological systems, including viruses, improving and augmenting existing detection capabilities. Designed to work across a range of biological organisms and sample types, such as environmental collections with a mixture of organisms, the FELIX tools and methods can provide early alerts to the presence of engineered organisms and help expedite appropriate responses thereby avoiding adverse consequences.

IARPA’s FELIX Program Investigates Rumors that COVID-19 Pandemic is the Result of Genetic Engineering
January 2020: The MIT-Broad Foundry, a performer team on the FELIX program, analyzed the publicly available SARS-CoV-2 genome using their FELIX bioinformatics pipeline in order to test the veracity of online stories claiming that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in a laboratory. They compared the SARS-CoV-2 genome against 58 million sequences, including genomes from closely and distantly related viruses. After only 10 minutes of analysis, the FELIX tool determined that all regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome match naturally-occurring coronaviruses better than they match any other organisms, including any other viruses. This analysis indicates that no sequences from foreign species have been engineered into SARS-CoV-2.

Figure 1: Comparison of the SARS-CoV-2 genome to a comprehensive sequence database shows that the closest genetic matches are to other coronaviruses. Image used with permission of Broad.

Research Highlights

• How Do We Know If a Virus Is Bioengineered?