Nanopore Sequencing Improvements Generate Enthusiasm

In February 2014, Oxford Nanopore Technologies (United Kingdom) rolled out the MinION nanopore-based sequencer. Initial user descriptions indicated that the device failed to live up to the company’s promises—it was slower than expected and made “a worrying number” of errors. But Oxford Nanopore has made improvements and pilot users are excitedly publishing results and testing the use cases for the palm-sized sequencer. Recent publications by pilot users have shown that a MinION can reliably sequence small genomes, such as bacteria. It can discriminate between closely related bacteria and viruses, read complex portions of the human genome, and differentiate between the genetic variants. Field trials have included Ebola sequencing in West Africa, biodiversity sequencing in forests and rain forests, and reportedly even upcoming trials in space. Researchers are hopeful that if the MinION can be modified to run on a smartphone instead of a computer, there could be endless field applications. Early users say the MinION’s benefits are its real-time, portable nature and its “super-long” reads. The palm-sized device plugs into a laptop’s USB port and data is displayed on the screen as generated, rather than at the end of a run. Oxford Nanopore recently held its first user conference dubbed […]