Miniature DNA Sequencing Device Independently Evaluated

The performance of a hand held miniature DNA sequencing device has been evaluated by an open, international consortium, and the resulting recommendations and protocols are available.

The innovative device opens up new possibilities for using sequencing technology in the field, for example in tracking disease outbreaks, testing packaged food or the trafficking of protected species.

An international team of scientists led by those at Wellcome Trust Center for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK) conducted two sets of ten investigations for the same Escherichia coli isolate (strain K-12 sub-strain MG1655), using a single, shared protocol. The accuracy and reproducibility of the data were consistent between laboratories and of good quality. Each group used the same protocols to obtain total genomic DNA from freshly grown cells, fragment the DNA, prepare libraries, and sequence the libraries using the device.

The device, the MinION (Oxford Nanopore; Oxford, UK) works by detecting individual DNA bases that pass through a nanopore, and unlike existing sequencing technologies, there are few inherent sensing limits on the length of the DNA sequence that it could read at one try. The MinION device was initially made available to thousands of laboratories all over the world, who were inspired to explore the technology and contribute to its development through the MinION Access Program (MAP).

Mark Akeson, PhD, a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz (USA), co-inventor of nanopore sequencing, and consultant to Oxford Nanopore, said, “The device performs well now, particularly for viral and bacterial genomes, so you can ship it anywhere and know you're going to get the same result. We're looking at a democratization of sequencing in the not-so-distant future. That is changing things for people who need to solve critical problems in challenging environments, like tracking Ebola strains during the recent outbreak in West Africa.” The study was published online on October 15, 2015, in the journal F1000Research.

Related Links:
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics 
Oxford Nanopore 
University of California Santa Cruz