New software for nanopore based diagnostics and surveillance

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION is a new DNA sequencer developed in the UK from UK technology, it is only a few inches long and plugs into the USB port of a laptop. Its low cost and portability make it extremely attractive for "in field" and clinical sequencing applications. These kinds of samples are typically metagenomic (mixed samples of many different organisms) and often the key questions researchers want to answer are: 1) what species are in the sample? 2) how much of each is there? 3) What kinds of antibiotic resistance bacteria are there?Unlike previous sequencing technologies, the MinION is capable of working in real-time, which means that data can be analysed progressively as it is generated. In a clinical setting, this could mean getting test results back far quicker than would otherwise be possible. However there is a lack of software capable of performing real-time analysis and many users fail to take advantage of this unique feature of the technology. The aim of this project is to develop a software tool that can provide real-time analysis of clinical and environmental samples in an easy-to-install and easy-to-use way, but which enables tailoring of the analysis to the specific needs of individual applications. We are also very keen to take advantage of the fact that the MinION can sequence much longer stretches of DNA than older technologies in order to more accurately identify the bacteria which harbour antibiotic resistance. Ultimately, this will lead to improved treatment regimes for illnesses linked to bacteria.