The authors thank Y. Zhu for her comments on the manuscript. Research reported in this publication was partially supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P30CA034196. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

NOTE: The NLR-seq protocol consists of three consecutive steps: 1) extraction of high-molecular weight (HMW) genomic DNA; 2) ultra-long DNA library construction, which includes fragmentation of the HMW DNA into the desired sizes and ligation of sequencing adapters to the DNA ends; and 3) loading of the adapter-ligated DNA onto the arrays of nanopores (Figure 1).
1. HMW DNA extraction
<ol>
	<li>Reagent setup. Make 1x phosphate buffered saline (PBS) buffer (1,000 mL) by adding 100 mL of PBS (10x) to 900 mL of water and mix well. Make lysis buffer (50&#160;mL) by adding 43.5 mL of water to a 50 mL tube. Add 500 &#956;L of Tris (1 M, pH 8.0), 1 mL of sodium chloride (NaCl) (5 M), 2.5 mL of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) (0.5 M, pH 8.0) and 2.5 mL of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (10%, wt/vol) to the tube and mix well. 
	NOTE: This PBS buffer can be stored at 4 &#176;C for up to 6 months. The premade lysis buffer can be stored at RT for up to 2 months.</li>
	<li>Check the cell mortality and count the cells. Ensure that the live ratio is &#62; 85% and the total cell number is 30 x 106. 
	NOTE: The cells used in this protocol are from the HG00733 cell line, a human lymphoblastoid cell line of Puerto Rican origin widely used in the 1000 Genome consortium for structural variation analysis (see table of materials for ordering information), which belongs to International Genome Sample Resource.</li>
	<li>Collect the cells by centrifuging at 200 x g for 5 min at RT. Discard the medium and resuspend the cell pellet (30 x 106 cells) with 5 mL of 1x PBS buffer. Centrifuge again at 200 x g for 5 min at RT and discard the supernatant. 
	NOTE: 25-35 x 106 of cells are acceptable for this approach. Further variation in the amount of cells used will need further optimization. The cell pellet can be stored at &#8722;80 &#176;C for up to 6 months.</li>
	<li>Resuspend the cell pellet in 200 &#956;L of 1x PBS buffer. If using a frozen cell pellet, wash with 5 mL of 1x PBS buffer. Centrifuge the solution at 200 x g for 5 min at RT, discard the supernatant and resuspend the cells in 200 &#956;L of 1x PBS buffer.</li>
	<li>Prepare 10 mL of lysis buffer in a 50 mL tube. Add the 200 &#956;L cell suspension to the lysis buffer and vortex at the highest speed for 3 s. Incubate the solution at 37 &#176;C for 1 h.</li>
	<li>Add 2 &#956;L of RNase A (100 mg/mL) to the lysate. Gently rotate the 50 mL tube to mix the sample. Incubate the solution at 37 &#176;C for 1 h.</li>
	<li>Add 50 &#956;L proteinase K (20 mg/mL) to the lysate. Gently rotate the 50 mL tube to mix the sample. Incubate the solution at 50 &#176;C for 2 h. During incubation, gently mix the sample every 30 min.</li>
	<li>Remove the 50 mL tube from 50 &#176;C and let stand at RT for 5 min.</li>
	<li>Add 10 mL of the phenol layer of phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1, vol/vol/vol) to the lysate and rotate the tube on a rotator mixer (see Table of Materials) at RT in a fume hood at 20 rpm for 10 min. Wrap the tube cap with parafilm to prevent leakage during rotation.</li>
	<li>Prepare two 50 mL gel tubes (see Table of Materials) by centrifuging at 1,500 x g for 2 min at RT. 
	NOTE: The gel forms a stable barrier between the nucleic acid-containing aqueous phase and the organic solvent.</li>
	<li>Pour the sample/phenol solution into one of the prepared 50 mL gel tubes from Step 1.10. Centrifuge the solution at 3,000 x g for 10 min at RT.</li>
	<li>Pour the supernatant into a new 50 mL tube. Add 10 mL of the phenol layer of phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1, vol/vol/vol) and rotate the tube on a rotator mixer at RT in a fume hood at 20 rpm for 10 min.</li>
	<li>Repeat step 1.11 once with the second prepared gel tube.</li>
	<li>Pour the supernatant into a new 50 mL tube. Add 25 mL of ice-cold 100% ethanol and gently rotate the tube by hand until the DNA precipitates (Figure 2). 
	NOTE: The precipitation approach helps to stabilize the HMW DNA.</li>
	<li>Bend a 20 &#956;L tip to make a hook. Carefully take out the HMW DNA with the hook and let the liquid drop off.</li>
	<li>Place the HMW DNA into a 50 mL tube containing 40 mL of 70% ethanol. Wash the DNA by gently inverting the tube 3 times.</li>
	<li>Repeat step 1.15 once to collect DNA from the 70% ethanol tube.</li>
	<li>Place the HMW DNA into a 2 mL tube containing 1.8 mL of 70% ethanol.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge the washed HMW DNA at 10,000 x g for 3 s at RT. Remove as much of the residual ethanol as possible by pipetting. 
	NOTE: Do not disturb the DNA pellet when pipetting the residual ethanol.</li>
	<li>Incubate the 2 mL tube at 37 &#176;C for 10 min with the lid open to dry the sample.
	<ol>
		<li>If continuing with step 2.1 (with mechanical shearing and 1D Ligation Sequencing Kit), add 1 mL of TE (10 mM Tris and 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0) to the 2 mL tube.</li>
		<li>If continuing with Step 2.2 (with transposase-based fragmentation and Rapid Sequencing Kit), add 200 &#956;L of 10 mM Tris (pH 8.0) with 0.02% Triton X-100. 
		NOTE: Do not disturb the DNA pellet. Letting the tube stand at 4 &#176;C in dark for 48 h will help the sample fully resuspend. The HMW DNA can be stored at 4 &#176;C for up to 2 weeks. Longer storage time or other storage conditions may introduce more short fragments.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
2. Ultra-long DNA library construction
NOTE: There are two ways to construct the ultra-long DNA libraries based on two different shearing methods coupled with nanopore sequencing kits. A mechanical shearing-based library produces data with an N50 of 50-70 kb, taking about 8 h for the library construction. A transposase fragmentation-based library produces an N50 of 90-100 kb data, taking only 90 min for the library construction. The mechanical shearing protocol gives higher yield from the same DNA input using identical versions of sequencing adapter and quality of nanopore flow cells.
<ol>
	<li>Mechanical shearing-based library construction
	<ol>
		<li>Thaw and mix the reagents from the ligation kit (see Table of Materials). Thaw FFPE DNA repair buffer and end repair/dA-tailing buffer on ice, then vortex and spin down to mix. Thaw adapter mix (AMX) and adapter bead binding buffer (ABB) on ice, then pipette and spin down to mix. Thaw running buffer with fuel mix (RBF) and elution buffer (ELB) at RT, then vortex and spin down to mix. Thaw library loading beads (LLB) at RT and pipette to mix before use.
		<ol>
			<li>Once thawed, keep all kit components on ice. Take out the enzymes only when needed. Bring the magnetic beads to RT for use. 
			NOTE: For recommendations on the magnetic beads to use see the table of materials.</li>
		</ol>
		</li>
		<li>Check the quality and quantity of the HMW DNA from step 1.21.1. Pipette out 20 &#956;L of DNA into new 1.5 mL tubes from three different locations in the HMW DNA tube using P200 wide bore tips. Take 1 &#956;L from the three aliquots to detect the concentration using a fluorometer and the quality using a UV reading. Check multiple times to confirm the results. 
		NOTE: The expected results are shown in Figure 3A. The OD260/280 value is approximately 1.9 and the OD260/230 value is approximately 2.3.</li>
		<li>Transfer the remaining 940 &#956;L of HMW DNA into a 50 mL tube cap with a P1000 wide bore tip.</li>
		<li>Aspirate all DNA into a 1 mL syringe without the needle.</li>
		<li>Put the 27 G needle onto the syringe and eject all DNA into the cap gently and slowly (~10 s). Take off the 27 G needle from the syringe.</li>
		<li>Repeat steps 2.1.4 and 2.1.5 for 29 times for a total of 30 passes through the needle. 
		NOTE: The sheared HMW DNA can be stored at 4 &#176;C in the dark for up to 24 h. Quality control (QC) is highly recommended by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, but it is costly and time consuming. If performing QC on an automated pulse field gel electrophoresis machine use a 5-150 kb protocol for a 20 h run. The expected results are shown in Figure 4.</li>
		<li>Prepare the DNA repair reaction in a 0.2 mL tube by adding 100 &#956;L of sheared HMW DNA (20 &#956;g), 15 &#956;L of FFPE DNA repair buffer, 12 &#956;L of FFPE DNA repair mix, and 16 &#956;L of nuclease-free water. Mix the reaction by flicking gently 6 times and spin down to remove bubbles.</li>
		<li>Incubate the reaction at 20 &#176;C for 60 min. Transfer the sample into a new 1.5 mL tube with a P200 wide bore tip.</li>
		<li>Resuspend the magnetic beads by pipetting or vortexing. Add 143 &#956;L beads (1x) to the DNA repair reaction and mix gently by flicking the tube 6 times. Rotate the tube on a rotator mixer at RT at 20 rpm for 30 min.</li>
		<li>Spin down the sample at 1,000 x g for 2 s at RT. Place the tube on a magnetic rack for 10 min. Keep the tube on the magnetic rack and discard the supernatant.</li>
		<li>Keeping the tube on the magnetic rack, add 400 &#956;L of freshly prepared 70% ethanol without disturbing the pellet. Remove the 70% ethanol after 30 s.</li>
		<li>Repeat step 2.1.11 once.</li>
		<li>Spin down the sample at 1,000 x g for 2 s at RT. Place the tube back on the magnetic rack. Remove any residual ethanol and air dry for 30 s. Do not over dry the pellet.</li>
		<li>Remove the tube from the magnetic rack and add 103 &#956;L of TE (10 mM Tris and 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0). Gently flick the tube to ensure that beads are covered in the buffer, and incubate on a rotator mixer at RT for 30 min. Gently flick the tube every 5 min to aid resuspension of the pellet.</li>
		<li>Pellet the beads on the magnetic rack for at least 10 min. Transfer 100 &#956;L of eluate with a P200 wide bore tip into a 0.2 mL tube.</li>
		<li>Prepare the end repair and dA-tailing reaction in a 0.2 mL tube by adding 100 &#956;L of repaired HMW DNA, 14 &#956;L of end repair/dA-tailing buffer and 7 &#956;L of end repair/dA-tailing mix. Mix the reaction by flicking gently 6 times, and spin down to remove bubbles.</li>
		<li>Incubate the reaction at 20 &#176;C for 60 min followed by 65 &#176;C for 20 min, and then hold at 22&#176;C. Transfer the sample into a new 1.5 mL tube using a P200 wide bore tip.</li>
		<li>Resuspend the magnetic beads by pipetting or vortexing. Add 48 &#956;L of beads (0.4x) to the end repair/dA-tailing reaction and mix gently by flicking the tube 6 times. Rotate the tube on a rotator mixer at RT at 20 rpm for 30 min.</li>
		<li>Repeat steps 2.1.10-2.1.13 once.</li>
		<li>Remove the tube from the magnetic rack and add 33 &#956;L of TE (10 mM Tris and 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0). Gently flick the tube to ensure that beads are covered in the buffer, and incubate on a rotator mixer at RT for 30 min. Gently flick the tube every 5 min to aid resuspension of the pellet.</li>
		<li>Pellet the beads on the magnetic rack for at least 10 min. Transfer 30 &#956;L of eluate with a P200 wide bore tip into a new 1.5 mL tube. Take the extra 1-2 &#956;L to detect the concentration using a fluorometer. 
		NOTE: Recovery of 5-6 &#956;g at this step is expected.</li>
		<li>Prepare the ligation reaction in the 1.5 mL sample tube by adding 30 &#956;L of end-repaired HMW DNA, 20 &#956;L of adapter mix (AMX 1D), and 50 &#956;L of blunt/TA ligation master mix. Mix the reaction by flicking gently 6 times between each sequential addition and spin down to remove bubbles.</li>
		<li>Incubate the reaction at RT for 60 min.</li>
		<li>Resuspend the magnetic beads by pipetting or vortexing. Add 40 &#956;L beads (0.4x) to the ligation reaction and mix gently by flicking the tube 6 times. Rotate the tube on a rotator mixer at RT at 20 rpm for 30 min.</li>
		<li>Repeat step 2.1.10 once.</li>
		<li>Add 400 &#956;L of adapter bead binding (ABB) buffer into the tube. Flick the tube gently 6 times to resuspend the beads. Place the tube back on the magnetic rack to separate the beads from the buffer and discard supernatant.</li>
		<li>Repeat step 2.1.26 once.</li>
		<li>Spin down the sample at 1,000 x g for 2 s at RT. Place the tube back on the magnetic rack. Remove any residual buffer and air dry for 30 s. Do not over dry the pellet.</li>
		<li>Remove the tube from the magnetic rack and resuspend the pellet in 43 &#956;L of elution buffer. Gently flick the tube to ensure that beads are covered in the buffer and incubate on a rotator mixer at RT for 30 min. Gently flick the tube every 5 min to aid resuspension of the pellet.</li>
		<li>Pellet the beads on the magnetic rack for at least 10 min. Transfer 40 &#956;L of eluate with a P200 wide bore tip into a new 1.5 mL tube. Take the extra 1-2 &#956;L to detect the concentration using a fluorometer. 
		NOTE: Recovery of 1-2 &#956;g at this step is expected. The mechanical shearing-based library is ready for loading. The library can be stored on ice for up to 2 h until loading for sequencing if needed.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Transposase fragmentation-based library construction
	<ol>
		<li>Thaw the reagents from the transposase kit (see Table of Materials). Thaw fragmentation mix (FRA) and rapid adapter (RAP) on ice and pipette to mix. Thaw sequencing buffer (SQB), loading beads (LB), flush buffer (FLB) and flush tether (FLT) at RT and pipette to mix. Thaw loading beads (LB) at RT and pipette to mix before use. Once thawed, keep all kit components on ice. Take out the enzymes only when needed.</li>
		<li>Check the quality and quantity of the HMW DNA from step 1.21.2. Pipette out 20 &#956;L of DNA into new 1.5 mL tubes from three different locations in the HMW DNA tube using P200 wide bore tips. Take 1 &#956;L from the three aliquots to detect the concentration using a fluorometer and the quality using a UV reading. Check multiple times to confirm the results. 
		NOTE: The expected results are shown in Figure 3B. The OD260/280 value is approximately 1.9 and the OD260/230 value is approximately 2.3.</li>
		<li>Prepare the DNA tagmentation reaction in a 0.2 mL tube by adding 22 &#956;L of HMW DNA, 1 &#956;L of 10 mM Tris (pH 8.0) with 0.02% Triton X-100 and 1 &#956;L of fragmentation mix (FRA). Mix by pipetting with a P200 wide bore tip as slowly as possible 6 times, taking care not to introduce bubbles.</li>
		<li>Incubate the reaction at 30 &#176;C for 1 min followed by 80 &#176;C for 1 min, and then hold at 4 &#176;C. Transfer the mix into a new 1.5 mL tube with a P200 wide bore tip and go to next step immediately.</li>
		<li>Add 1 &#956;L of rapid adapter (RAP) to the 1.5 mL sample tube. Mix by pipetting with a P200 wide bore tip as slowly as possible 6 times, taking care not to introduce bubbles.</li>
		<li>Incubate the reaction at RT for 60 min. 
		NOTE: The transposase fragmentation-based library is ready for loading. The library can be stored on ice for up to 2 h until loading for sequencing if needed.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
3. Sequencing on the nanopore device
<ol>
	<li>Check the nanopore sequencing device (see Table of Materials). Make sure both the software and hardware are working and there is enough storage space.</li>
	<li>Check the flow cell. Open a new flow cell and insert the flow cell into the nanopore device. Check the box of the location the flow cell was inserted into (X1-X5). Select the correct flow cell type. Click on the Check Flow Cells workflow. Click on the Start Test button to start the flow cell QC analysis. 
	NOTE: If the reported total active pore number is less than 800, use a different new flow cell for sequencing.</li>
	<li>Prepare the priming buffer. For a mechanical shearing-based library, add 576 &#956;L of running buffer with fuel mix (RBF) and 624 &#956;L of nuclease-free water into a 1.5 mL tube. Vortex and spin down to mix the priming buffer. For a transposase fragmentation-based library, add 30 &#956;L of flush tether (FLT) to the tube of flush buffer (FLB). Vortex and spin down to mix the priming buffer.</li>
	<li>On the flow cell, move the priming port cover clockwise to expose the priming port.</li>
	<li>Set a P1000 pipette to 100 &#956;L and insert the tip into the priming port. Draw back a small volume of buffer (less than 30 &#956;L) to remove any bubbles from the flow cell. Stop pipetting once a small amount of yellow fluid enters the tip.</li>
	<li>Use a P1000 pipette to load 800 &#956;L of the priming mix into the flow cell via the priming port. To avoid introducing bubbles, add 30 &#956;L of the priming mix to cover the top of the priming port first, then insert the tip into the priming port and slowly add the rest of the priming mix. Take out the tip when there is about 50 &#956;L left. Add the rest of priming mix on the top of the priming port. The fluid will go inside by itself.</li>
	<li>Leave the setup to incubate for 5 min. In the meantime, prepare the library mix in the 1.5 mL tube containing the library. 
	NOTE: For a mechanical shearing-based library add 35 &#181;L of running buffer with fuel mix (RBF) to 40 &#181;L of the DNA library. For a transposase fragmentation-based library add 34 &#181;L of sequencing buffer (SQB) and 16 &#181;L of nuclease-free water to 25 &#181;L of the DNA library.</li>
	<li>Open the flow cell sample port cover gently to expose the sample port. Use a P1000 pipette to add 200 &#956;L of the priming mix through the priming port into the flow cell as described in step 3.5. Make sure that the priming mix is not loaded into the flow cell through the sample port.</li>
	<li>Set a P200 pipette to 80 &#956;L. Mix the library gently with a wide bore tip by pipetting up and down 6 times just prior to loading.</li>
	<li>Load the library mix dropwise through the sample port into the flow cell. Add each drop only after the previous drop is completely loaded into the port.</li>
	<li>Put back the sample port cover gently and make sure the sample port is fully covered. Move the priming port cover anticlockwise to cover the priming port. Close the device lid.</li>
	<li>Click on the New Experiment workflow. Type the library name, select the correct kit according to procedures used, and check that the settings are correct (48 h run, real-time base-calling ON).</li>
	<li>Click Start Run. After 10 min, record the flow cell ID and the active nanopore numbers (total number and each four groups&#8217; numbers) from the run information.</li>
	<li>Data analysis. Copy the data to a local computer or a cluster at any time of the sequencing or when the run is complete. Use Minimap216 (https://github.com/lh3/minimap2) to align the sequence data to the reference genome. Summarize the sequencing performance from the raw sequence data and the alignments by NanoPlot17 (https://github.com/wdecoster/NanoPlot).</li>
</ol>

<ol><li>Mardis, E. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=((Next-generation+sequencing+platforms%5BTitle%5D)+AND+%22Annual+Review+of+Analytical+Chemistry%22%5BJournal%5D)">Next-generation sequencing platforms.</a> Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry. 6, 287-303 (2013).</li>
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<li>Gabrieli, T., Sharim, H., Michaeli, Y., Ebenstein, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=((Cas9-Assisted+Targeting+of+CHromosome+segments+%28CATCH%29+for+targeted+nanopore+sequencing+and+optical+genome+mapping%5BTitle%5D)+AND+%22bioRxiv%22%5BJournal%5D)">Cas9-Assisted Targeting of CHromosome segments (CATCH) for targeted nanopore sequencing and optical genome mapping.</a> bioRxiv. , (2017).</li>
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The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

In principle, nanopore sequencing is able to generate 100 kb to megabase reads in length11,12,13. Four major factors will affect the performance of the sequencing run and data quality: 1) active pore numbers and the activity of the pores; 2) motor protein, which controls the speed of DNA passing through the nanopore; 3) DNA template (length, purity, quality, mass); 4) sequencing adapter ligation efficiency, which determines the useable DNA from the input sample. The first two factors depend on the version of the flow cell and the sequencing kit provided by the manufacturer. The second two factors are critical steps in this protocol (HMW DNA extraction, shearing and ligation).
This protocol requires patience and practice. The quality of HMW DNA is important for ultra-long DNA libraries6. The protocol starts with cells collected with high viability (&#62;85% viable cell preferred), limiting the degraded DNA from dead cells. Any harsh process which may introduce damages to the DNA (e.g., strong disturbing, shaking, vortex, multiple pipetting, repeated freezing and thawing) should be avoided. In the design of the protocol, we omit pipetting in the entire process of DNA extraction. Wide bore tips need to be used when pipetting is necessary after the mechanical shearing during library construction and sequencing. As the nanopores are sensitive to the chemistries in the chamber buffer12, there should be as few residual contaminants (e.g., the detergents, surfactants, phenol, ethanol, proteins RNAs, etc.) as possible in the DNA. Considering the length and yield, the phenol extraction method shows the best and most reproducible results compared with multiple different extraction methods tested so far.
Despite the ability of this protocol to produce long-read sequences, several limitations still remain. First, this protocol was optimized based on the nanopore sequencing device available at time of publication; thus, it is limited to the selective nanopore-based sequencing chemistry and could be suboptimal when performed in other types of long-read sequencing devices. Second, the outcome is highly dependent on the quality of the DNA extracted from the starting material (tissues or cells). Read length will be compromised if the starting DNA is already degraded or damaged. Third, although multiple QC steps are incorporated in the protocol to check the DNA quality, the final yield and length of the reads can be affected by the flow cell and pore activity, which could be variable at this early stage of nanopore sequencing platform development.
The protocol described here uses human suspension cell line samples for DNA extraction. We have optimized the passing times in needle shearing, the ratio of HMW DNA to transposase and the ligation time to produce the described results. The protocol can be expanded in four ways. First, users can start with other cultured mammalian cells and with different amount of cells, tissues, clinical samples, or other organisms. Further optimization on lysis incubation time, reaction volume and centrifugation will be needed. Second, it is hard to predict the target size for ultra-long read sequencing. If the read lengths are shorter than expected, the users can adjust the passing times in the mechanical shearing-based method or change the ratio of the HMW DNA to transposase in the transposase fragmentation-based method. Longer binding and elution time during cleanup steps are helpful because the HMW DNA is highly viscous. Third, with different nanopore sequencing devices, one can adjust the amount and volume of the DNA to meet the criteria of the sequencer. Fourth, only those DNA ligated to sequencing adapters will be sequenced. To further improve ligation efficiency, one can attempt to titrate the adapter and ligase concentrations. Modified ligation time and molecular crowding agents such as PEG18 can be applied in future. The ultra-long DNA sequencing protocol combined with CRISPR19,20 may offer an effective tool for target enrichment sequencing.

Over the past decade, massively parallel and highly accurate second-generation high-throughput sequencing technologies have driven an explosion of biomedical discovery and technological innovation1,2,3. Despite the technical advances, the short-read data generated by the second-generation platforms are ineffective in resolving complex genomic regions and are limited in the detection of genomic structural variants (SVs), which play important roles in human evolution and diseases4,5. Furthermore, short-read data are unable to resolve repeat variation and are unsuitable for discerning haplotype phasing of genetic variants6.
Recent progress in single-molecule sequencing offers significantly longer read length, which can facilitate the detection of the full spectrum of SVs7,8,9, and offers accurate and complete assembly of complex microbial and mammalian genomes6,10. The nanopore platform performs single-molecule sequencing by directly measuring the current changes mediated by DNA passage through the pores11,12,13. Unlike any existing DNA sequencing chemistry, nanopore sequencing can generate long (tens to thousands of kilobases) reads in real-time without relying on polymerase kinetics or artificial amplification of the DNA sample. Therefore, nanopore long-read sequencing (NLR-seq) holds great promise for generating ultra-long read lengths well beyond 100 kb, which would greatly advance genomic and biomedical analyses14, particularly in the low-complexity or repeat-rich regions of the genomes15.
The unique feature of nanopore sequencing is its potential to generate long reads without a theoretical length limitation. Therefore, the read length is dependent on the physical length of the DNA which is directly affected by the DNA integrity and sequencing template quality. Moreover, depending on the extent of manipulation and the number of steps involved, such as pipetting forces and extraction conditions, the quality of the DNA is highly variable. Therefore, it is challenging for one to yield long reads by just applying the standard DNA extraction protocols and manufacturer&#39;s supplied library construction methods. Toward this end, we have developed a robust method to generate ultra-long read (hundreds of kilobases) sequencing data starting from harvested cell pellets. We adopted multiple improvements in the DNA extraction and library preparation procedures. We streamlined the protocol to exclude unnecessary procedures that cause DNA degradation and damages. This protocol is composed of high molecular weight (HMW) DNA extraction, ultra-long DNA library construction, and sequencing on a nanopore platform. For a well-trained molecular biologist, it typically takes 6 h from cell harvesting to the completion of HMW DNA extraction, 90 min or 8 h for library construction depending on the shearing method, and up to a further 48 h for DNA sequencing. The use of the protocol will empower the genomics community to improve our understanding of genome complexity and gain new insight into genome variation in human diseases.

<table><tbody><tr><td>&lt;strong&gt;Reagents&lt;/strong&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Absolute ethanol</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>E7023</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Agencourt AMPure XPbeads</td><td>Beckman</td><td>A63881</td><td>magnetic beads for cleanup</td></tr><tr><td>BD conventional needles</td><td>Becton Dickinson</td><td>305136</td><td>27G, for mechanical shearing</td></tr><tr><td>BD Luer-Lok syringe</td><td>Becton Dickinson</td><td>309628</td><td>for mechanical shearing</td></tr><tr><td>Blunt/TA Ligase Master Mix</td><td>NEB</td><td>M0367S</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Countess Cell Counting Chamber Slides</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>C10228</td><td>for cell counting</td></tr><tr><td>EDTA</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>AM9261</td><td>pH 8.0, 0.5 M, 500 mL</td></tr><tr><td>Flow Cell</td><td>Oxford Nanopore Technologies</td><td>FLO-MIN106</td><td>R9.4.1</td></tr><tr><td>HG00773 cells</td><td>Coriell Institute</td><td>HG00733</td><td>cells used in this protocol</td></tr><tr><td>Ligation Sequencing Kit 1D</td><td>Oxford Nanopore Technologies</td><td>SQK-LSK108</td><td>nanopore ligation kit</td></tr><tr><td>MaXtract High Density tubes</td><td>Qiagen</td><td>129073</td><td>gel tubes</td></tr><tr><td>NEBNext FFPE DNA Repair Mix</td><td>NEB</td><td>M6630S</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>NEBNext Ultra II End Repair/dA-Tailing Module</td><td>NEB</td><td>M7546S</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Nuclease-free water</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>AM9937</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Phosphate-Buffered Saline, PBS</td><td>Gibco</td><td>70011044</td><td>10X, pH 7.4</td></tr><tr><td>Phenol:chloroform:IAA</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>AM9730</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Proteinase K</td><td>Qiagen</td><td>19131</td><td>20 mg/mL</td></tr><tr><td>Qubit dsDNA BR Assay Kit</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>Q32850</td><td>fluorometer assays for DNA quantification</td></tr><tr><td>Rapid Sequencing Kit</td><td>Oxford Nanopore Technologies</td><td>SQK-RAD004</td><td>nanopore transposase kit</td></tr><tr><td>RNase A</td><td>Qiagen</td><td>19101</td><td>100 mg/mL</td></tr><tr><td>SDS</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>AM9822</td><td>10% (wt/vol)</td></tr><tr><td>Sodium chloride solution</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>AM9759</td><td>5.0 M</td></tr><tr><td>TE buffer</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>AM9849</td><td>pH 8.0</td></tr><tr><td>Tris</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>AM9856</td><td>pH 8.0, 1 M</td></tr><tr><td>Triton X-100 solution</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>93443</td><td>~10%</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;strong&gt;Name&lt;/strong&gt;</td><td>&lt;strong&gt;Company&lt;/strong&gt;</td><td>&lt;strong&gt;Catalog Number&lt;/strong&gt;</td><td>&lt;strong&gt;Comments&lt;/strong&gt;</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;strong&gt;Equipment&lt;/strong&gt;</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Bio-Rad C1000 Thermal Cycler</td><td>Bio-Rad</td><td>1851196EDU</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Centrifuge 5810R</td><td>Eppendorf</td><td>22628180</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Countess II FL Automated Cell Counter</td><td>Life Technologies</td><td>AMQAF1000</td><td>for cell counting</td></tr><tr><td>DynaMag-2 Magnet</td><td>Life Technologies</td><td>12321D</td><td>magnetic rack</td></tr><tr><td>Eppendorf ThermoMixer</td><td>Eppendorf</td><td>5382000023</td><td>for incubation</td></tr><tr><td>Freezer</td><td>LabRepCo</td><td>LHP-5-UFMB</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>GridION</td><td>Oxford Nanopore Technologies</td><td>GridION X5</td><td>nanopore device used in this protocol</td></tr><tr><td>HulaMixer Sample Mixer</td><td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td><td>15920D</td><td>rotator mixer</td></tr><tr><td>MicroCentrifuge</td><td>Benchmark Scientific</td><td>C1012</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>NanoDrop ND-1000 Spectrophotometer</td><td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td><td>ND-1000</td><td>for UV reading</td></tr><tr><td>Pippin Pulse</td><td>Sage Science</td><td>PPI0200</td><td>pulsed-field gel electrophoresis instrument</td></tr><tr><td>Qubit 3.0 Fluorometer</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>Q33216</td><td>fluorometer</td></tr><tr><td>Refrigerator</td><td>LabRepCo</td><td>LABHP-5-URBSS</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Vortex-Genie 2</td><td>Scientific Industries</td><td>SI-A236</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Water bath</td><td>VWR</td><td>89501-464</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

ultra-long read sequencing for whole genomic dna analysis

Third generation single-molecule DNA sequencing technologies offer significantly longer read length that can facilitate the assembly of complex genomes and analysis of complex structural variants. Nanopore platforms perform single-molecule sequencing by directly measuring the current changes mediated by DNA passage through the pores and can generate hundreds of kilobase (kb) reads with minimal capital cost. This platform has been adopted by many researchers for a variety of applications. Achieving longer sequencing read lengths is the most critical factor to leverage the value of nanopore sequencing platforms. To generate ultra-long reads, special consideration is required to avoid DNA breakages and gain efficiency to generate productive sequencing templates. Here, we provide the detailed protocol of ultra-long DNA sequencing including high molecular weight (HMW) DNA extraction from fresh or frozen cells, library construction by mechanical shearing or transposase fragmentation, and sequencing on a nanopore device. From 20-25 &#181;g of HMW DNA, the method can achieve N50 read length of 50-70 kb with mechanical shearing and N50 of 90-100 kb read length with transposase mediated fragmentation. The protocol can be applied to DNA extracted from mammalian cells to perform whole genome sequencing for the detection of structural variants and genome assembly. Additional improvements on the DNA extraction and enzymatic reactions will further increase the read length and expand its utility.

The ultra-long DNA sequencing protocol applies HMW DNA for library construction. Therefore, it is critical to choose well-cultured cells with the live ratio &#62;85% at the cell harvesting step. The amount of cells used for DNA extraction will affect the quality and the quantity of the HMW DNA. The cell lysis does not work well if starting with too many cells. Using too few cells does not generate enough DNA for library construction because the HMW DNA precipitation is performed using gentle rotation by hand instead of high-speed centrifugation. An example of the HMW DNA after adding ice-cold 100% ethanol and rotating is shown as the white cotton-like precipitate in Figure 2.
It is important to check the quality of the input DNA before beginning the library construction. Degradation, incorrect quantification, contamination (e.g., proteins, RNAs, detergents, surfactant, and residual phenol or ethanol) and low molecular weight DNA can have a significant effect on the subsequent procedures and on the final read length. We recommend performing the QC analysis using the DNA from three different locations in the tube containing HMW DNA. From UV reading results for the HMW DNA, the OD260/OD280 value is approximately 1.9 and the OD260/OD230 value is approximately 2.3 (Figure 3A,B). These ratio values are consistent among the three tests for a good HMW DNA sample. Different shearing methods requires different volumes of input DNA. The concentration of HMW DNA needs to be &#62;200 ng/&#181;L for mechanical shearing while it needs to be &#62;1 &#181;g/&#181;L for transposase fragmentation. The concentration detected by a fluorometer is a little lower than UV reading. However, the coefficient of variation of the concentration of the same HMW DNA sample is required to be less than 15% with both the fluorometer and the UV reading assays. Mechanical shearing applies a syringe with a needle to break the HMW DNA so that the number of passes through the needle will impact the size of the sheared DNA and the final read length. It is recommended to perform size QC after needle shearing to ensure the majority of the HMW DNA is larger than 50 kb as illustrated in Figure 4. In the mechanical shearing method, 30 passes generated the best sequencing results considering both the length and output.
The N50 of a mechanical shearing-based library is 50-70 kb while a transposase fragmentation-based library is 90-100 kb. The results of four runs using the HG00733 cell line are shown in Table 1. All four runs have over 2,300 reads with length longer than 100 kb. The maximum length is longer in the transposase fragmentation-based libraries (455 kb and 489 kb) compared with the mechanical shearing-based libraries (348 kb and 387 kb) while the latter produced more total reads, indicating a higher yield. The transposase fragmentation-based library construction has fewer steps and shorter preparation time so that it will introduce fewer short fragments. The two runs using transposase have a longer mean length (&#62;30 kb) and median length (&#62;10 kb). In addition, the data shows consistent high quality in all runs (mean quality score is approximately 10.0, ~90% base accuracy). More than 97% of the total bases were aligned to the human reference genome (hg19) using Minimap216 with the default settings. The expected size distributions of the raw reads are shown in Figure 5. All runs have a large proportion of data above 50 kb while transposase fragmentation-based libraries have a higher ratio of ultra-long reads (e.g. &#62; 100 kb). This protocol has been successfully applied in multiple human cell lines (Supplementary Table 1).
<img alt="Figure 1" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig1.jpg" /> 
Figure 1: Schematic overview of the nanopore long-read sequencing (NLR-seq) workflow. Orange, the transposase complex. Yellow-green, the nanopore adapter. <a href="https://www-jove-com.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig1large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 2" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig2.jpg" /> 
Figure 2: Representative DNA precipitation from phenol-chloroform extraction method. The white arrow indicates the HMW DNA. <a href="https://www-jove-com.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig2large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 3" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig3.jpg" /> 
Figure 3: Example QC results of the HMW DNA from UV reading. (A) HMW DNA from step 1.21.1 ready for mechanical shearing-based library construction. (B) HMW DNA from step 1.21.2 for transposase fragmentation-based library construction. <a href="https://www-jove-com.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig3large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 4" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig4.jpg" /> 
Figure 4: QC results of the needle sheared HMW DNA by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. L1: Quick-load 1 kb DNA ladder; L2: Quick-load 1 kb extend DNA ladder. 1-8: DNA with different passing times through the needle shearing. 1-3, no shearing; 4, 10 times; 5, 20 times; 6, 30 times; 7, 40 times; 8, 50 times. This QC step is optional. <a href="https://www-jove-com.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig4large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Figure 5" class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig5.jpg" /> 
Figure 5: Expected size distributions of the nanopore ultra-long DNA libraries. MS, mechanical shearing-based libraries. TF, transposase fragmentation-based libraries. <a href="https://www-jove-com.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/files/ftp_upload/58954/58954fig5large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td></td>
			<td>Mechanical shearing_rep1</td>
			<td>Mechanical shearing_rep2</td>
			<td>Transposase fragmentation_rep1</td>
			<td>Transposase fragmentation_rep2</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell line</td>
			<td>HG00733</td>
			<td>HG00733</td>
			<td>HG00733</td>
			<td>HG00733</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>N50 of the reads</td>
			<td>55,180</td>
			<td>63,007</td>
			<td>98,237</td>
			<td>95,629</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Number of reads longer than 100 Kb</td>
			<td>2,500</td>
			<td>3,082</td>
			<td>2,386</td>
			<td>2,355</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Number of total reads</td>
			<td>97,859</td>
			<td>80,465</td>
			<td>24,166</td>
			<td>21,032</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Maximum length (bp)</td>
			<td>348,482</td>
			<td>387,113</td>
			<td>454,660</td>
			<td>489,426</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mean length (bp)</td>
			<td>17,861</td>
			<td>20,395</td>
			<td>33,528</td>
			<td>38,175</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Median length (bp)</td>
			<td>5,335</td>
			<td>5,894</td>
			<td>10,249</td>
			<td>15,656</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mean quality of the reads</td>
			<td>10.0</td>
			<td>10.1</td>
			<td>9.9</td>
			<td>10.0</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Total bases of raw reads</td>
			<td>1,747,849,822</td>
			<td>1,641,058,932</td>
			<td>810,229,733</td>
			<td>802,886,304</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Total bases of aligned reads</td>
			<td>1,693,300,832</td>
			<td>1,607,975,925</td>
			<td>791,422,077</td>
			<td>778,417,627</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mapped ratio of total bases (hg19, Minimap2)</td>
			<td>96.9%</td>
			<td>98.0%</td>
			<td>97.7%</td>
			<td>97.0%</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Number of active pores</td>
			<td>1225: 480, 402, 254, 89</td>
			<td>1058: 480, 356, 176, 46</td>
			<td>958: 452, 328, 148, 30</td>
			<td>1092: 487, 367, 195, 43</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
Table 1: Performance metrics summary from runs with different shearing protocols.
<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td></td>
			<td>Library 1</td>
			<td>Library 2</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell line</td>
			<td>K562</td>
			<td>GM19240</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell Ordering Information</td>
			<td>ATCC, cat. No. CCL-243</td>
			<td>Coriell Institute, cat. No. GM19240</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Protocol</td>
			<td>mechanical shearing</td>
			<td>mechanical shearing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>N50 of the reads</td>
			<td>60,063</td>
			<td>55,295</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Number of total reads</td>
			<td>193,783</td>
			<td>120,807</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Median length (bp)</td>
			<td>1,843</td>
			<td>4,688</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mean length (bp)</td>
			<td>9,825</td>
			<td>17,408</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Maximum length (bp)</td>
			<td>548,780</td>
			<td>212,338</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Total bases of raw reads</td>
			<td>1,903,989,686</td>
			<td>2,103,015,331</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Total bases of aligned reads</td>
			<td>1,837,350,047</td>
			<td>1,997,419,761</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mapped ratio of total bases (hg19, Minimap2)</td>
			<td>96.6%</td>
			<td>95.0%</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Number of active pores</td>
			<td>1111: 482, 371, 203, 55</td>
			<td>1032: 447, 333, 196, 56</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
Supplementary Table 1: Summary of two NLR-seq runs using other cell lines with the mechanical shearing protocol.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Ultra-long Read Sequencing for Whole Genomic DNA Analysis at JoVE.com

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Ultra-long Read Sequencing for Whole Genomic DNA Analysis

Long-read sequences greatly facilitate the assembly of complex genomes and characterization of structural variation. We describe a method to generate ultra-long sequences by nanopore-based sequencing platforms. The approach adopts an optimized DNA extraction followed by modified library preparations to generate hundreds of kilobase reads with moderate coverage from human cells.

Third generation single-molecule DNA sequencing technologies offer significantly longer read length that can facilitate the assembly of complex genomes ...

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22.7K Views.  Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine. Dit protocol vult een technische leemte in ons vermogen om ultralange sequentiearrays te genereren. Het stelt ons in staat om genoomcomplexiteit te onderzoeken die wordt beperkt door de huidige kortgelezen benaderingen in genomics. De methode is uniek in prestaties, robuustheid, veelzijdigheid en potentieel om te integreren met veelbelovende nieuwe toepassingen.Het is van toepassing op verschillende materialen en kan worden gemoduleerd voor verschillende instant maten. Deze techniek is...

Video: Ultra-long Read Sequencing for Whole Genomic DNA Analysis

Methyl-binding DNA capture Sequencing for Patient Tissues

Methylation is one of the essential epigenetic modifications to the DNA, which is responsible for the precise regulation of genes required for stable development and differentiation of different tissue types. Dysregulation of this process is often the hallmark of various diseases like cancer. Here, we outline one of the recent sequencing techniques, Methyl-Binding DNA Capture sequencing (MBDCap-seq), used to quantify methylation in various normal and disease tissues for large patient cohorts. We describe a detailed protocol of this affinity enrichment approach along with a bioinformatics pipeline to achieve optimal quantification. This technique has been used to sequence hundreds of patients across various cancer types as a part of the 1,000 methylome project (Cancer Methylome System).

Here we present a protocol to investigate genome wide DNA methylation in large scale clinical patient screening studies using the Methyl-Binding DNA Capture sequencing (MBDCap-seq or MBD-seq) technology and the subsequent bioinformatics analysis pipeline.

Methylation is one of the essential epigenetic modifications to the DNA, which is responsible for the precise regulation of genes required for stable ...

Genetics

Purification of High Molecular Weight Genomic DNA from Powdery Mildew for Long-Read Sequencing

The powdery mildew fungi are a group of economically important fungal plant pathogens. Relatively little is known about the molecular biology and genetics of these pathogens, in part due to a lack of well-developed genetic and genomic resources. These organisms have large, repetitive genomes, which have made genome sequencing and assembly prohibitively difficult. Here, we describe methods for the collection, extraction, purification and quality control assessment of high molecular weight genomic DNA from one powdery mildew species, Golovinomyces cichoracearum. The protocol described includes mechanical disruption of spores followed by an optimized phenol/chloroform genomic DNA extraction. A typical yield was 7 &#181;g DNA per 150 mg conidia. The genomic DNA that is isolated using this procedure is suitable for long-read sequencing (i.e., &#62; 48.5 kbp). Quality control measures to ensure the size, yield, and purity of the genomic DNA are also described in this method. Sequencing of the genomic DNA of the quality described here will allow for the assembly and comparison of multiple powdery mildew genomes, which in turn will lead to a better understanding and improved control of this agricultural pathogen.

Described here is a method for the extraction, purification, and quality control of genomic DNA from the obligate biotrophic fungal pathogen, powdery mildew, for use in long-read genome sequencing.

The powdery mildew fungi are a group of economically important fungal plant pathogens. Relatively little is known about the molecular biology and genetics ...

Optimization and Comparative Analysis of Plant Organellar DNA Enrichment Methods Suitable for Next-generation Sequencing

Plant organellar genomes contain large, repetitive elements that may undergo pairing or recombination to form complex structures and/or sub-genomic fragments. Organellar genomes also exist in admixtures within a given cell or tissue type (heteroplasmy), and an abundance of subtypes may change throughout development or when under stress (sub-stoichiometric shifting). Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are required to obtain deeper understanding of organellar genome structure and function. Traditional sequencing studies use several methods to obtain organellar DNA: (1) If a large amount of starting tissue is used, it is homogenized and subjected to differential centrifugation and/or gradient purification. (2) If a smaller amount of tissue is used (i.e., if seeds, material, or space is limited), the same process is performed as in (1), followed by whole-genome amplification to obtain sufficient DNA. (3) Bioinformatics analysis can be used to sequence the total genomic DNA and to parse out organellar reads. All these methods have inherent challenges and tradeoffs. In (1), it may be difficult to obtain such a large amount of starting tissue; in (2), whole-genome amplification could introduce a sequencing bias; and in (3), homology between nuclear and organellar genomes could interfere with assembly and analysis. In plants with large nuclear genomes, it is advantageous to enrich for organellar DNA to reduce sequencing costs and sequence complexity for bioinformatics analyses. Here, we compare a traditional differential centrifugation method with a fourth method, an adapted CpG-methyl pulldown approach, to separate the total genomic DNA into nuclear and organellar fractions. Both methods yield sufficient DNA for NGS, DNA that is highly enriched for organellar sequences, albeit at different ratios in mitochondria and chloroplasts. We present the optimization of these methods for wheat leaf tissue and discuss major advantages and disadvantages of each approach in the context of sample input, protocol ease, and downstream application.

The comparison and optimization of two plant organellar DNA enrichment methods are presented: traditional differential centrifugation and fractionation of the total gDNA based on methylation status. We assess the resulting DNA quantity and quality, demonstrate performance in short-read next-generation sequencing, and discuss the potential for use in long-read single-molecule sequencing.

Plant organellar genomes contain large, repetitive elements that may undergo pairing or recombination to form complex structures and/or sub-genomic ...

Detection of Rare Mutations in CtDNA Using Next Generation Sequencing

The analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) using next-generation sequencing (NGS) has become a valuable tool for the development of clinical oncology. However, the application of this method is challenging due to its low sensitivity in analyzing the trace amount of ctDNA in the blood. Furthermore, the method may generate false positive and negative results from this sequencing and subsequent analysis. To improve the feasibility and reliability of ctDNA detection in the clinic, here we present a technique which enriches rare mutations for sequencing, Enrich Rare Mutation Sequencing (ER-Seq). ER-Seq can distinguish a single mutation out of 1 x 107 wild-type nucleotides, which makes it a promising tool to detect extremely low frequency genetic alterations and thus will be very useful in studying disease heterogenicity. By virtue of the unique sequencing adapter&#39;s ligation, this method enables an efficient recovery of ctDNA molecules, while at the same time correcting for errors bidirectionally (sense and antisense). Our selection of 1021 kb probes enriches the measurement of target regions that cover over 95% of the tumor-related driver mutations in 12 tumors. This cost-effective and universal method enables a uniquely successful accumulation of genetic data. After efficiently filtering out background error, ER-seq can precisely detect rare mutations. Using a case study, we present a detailed protocol demonstrating probe design, library construction, and target DNA capture methodologies, while also including the data analysis workflow. The process to carry out this method typically takes 1-2 days.

This manuscript describes a technique for detecting mutations of low frequency in ctDNA, ER-Seq. This method is differentiated by its unique use of two-directional error correction, a special background filter, and efficient molecular acquirement.

The analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) using next-generation sequencing (NGS) has become a valuable tool for the development of clinical oncology. ...

Cancer Research

Rare Event Detection Using Error-corrected DNA and RNA Sequencing

Conventional next-generation sequencing techniques (NGS) have allowed for immense genomic characterization for over a decade. Specifically, NGS has been used to analyze the spectrum of clonal mutations in malignancy. Though far more efficient than traditional Sanger methods, NGS struggles with identifying rare clonal and subclonal mutations due to its high error rate of ~0.5&#8211;2.0%. Thus, standard NGS has a limit of detection for mutations that are &#62;0.02 variant allele fraction (VAF). While the clinical significance for mutations this rare in patients without known disease remains unclear, patients treated for leukemia have significantly improved outcomes when residual disease is &#60;0.0001 by flow cytometry. In order to mitigate this artefactual background of NGS, numerous methods have been developed. Here we describe a method for Error-corrected DNA and RNA Sequencing (ECS), which involves tagging individual molecules with both a 16 bp random index for error-correction and an 8 bp patient-specific index for multiplexing. Our method can detect and track clonal mutations at variant allele fractions (VAFs) two orders of magnitude lower than the detection limit of NGS and as rare as 0.0001 VAF.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a powerful tool for genomic characterization that is limited by the high error rate of the platform (~0.5&#8211;2.0%). We describe our methods of error-corrected sequencing that allow us to obviate the NGS error rate and detect mutations at variant allele fractions as rare as 0.0001.

Conventional next-generation sequencing techniques (NGS) have allowed for immense genomic characterization for over a decade. Specifically, NGS has been ...

Ultralow Input Genome Sequencing Library Preparation from a Single Tardigrade Specimen

Tardigrades are microscopic animals that enter an ametabolic state called anhydrobiosis when facing desiccation and can return to their original state when water is supplied. The genomic sequencing of microscopic animals such as tardigrades risks bacterial contamination that sometimes leads to erroneous interpretations, for example, regarding the extent of horizontal gene transfer in these animals. Here, we provide an ultralow input method to sequence the genome of the tardigrade, Hypsibius dujardini, from a single specimen. By employing rigorous washing and contaminant exclusion along with an efficient extraction of the 50 ~ 200 pg genomic DNA from a single individual, we constructed a library sequenced with a DNA sequencing instrument. These libraries were highly reproducible and unbiased, and an informatics analysis of the sequenced reads with other H. dujardini genomes showed a minimal amount of contamination. This method can be applied to unculturable tardigrades that could not be sequenced using previous methods.

Contamination during the genomic sequencing of microscopic organisms remains a large problem. Here, we show a method to sequence the genome of a tardigrade from a single specimen with as little as 50 pg of genomic DNA without whole genome amplification to minimize the risk of contamination.

Tardigrades are microscopic animals that enter an ametabolic state called anhydrobiosis when facing desiccation and can return to their original state ...

Novel Sequence Discovery by Subtractive Genomics

Subtractive genomics can be used in any research where the goal is to identify the sequence of a gene, protein, or general region that is embedded in a larger genomic context. Subtractive genomics enables a researcher to isolate a target sequence of interest (T) by comprehensive sequencing and subtracting out known genetic elements (reference, R). The method can be used to identify novel sequences such as mitochondria, chloroplasts, viruses, or germline restricted chromosomes, and is particularly useful when T cannot be easily isolated from R. Beginning with the comprehensive genomic data (R + T), the method uses Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) against a reference sequence, or sequences, to remove the matching known sequences (R), leaving behind the target (T). For subtraction to work best, R should be a relatively complete draft that is missing T. Since sequences remaining after subtraction are tested through quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR), R does not need to be complete for the method to work. Here we link computational steps with experimental steps into a cycle that can be iterated as needed, sequentially removing multiple reference sequences and refining the search for T. The advantage of subtractive genomics is that a completely novel target sequence can be identified even in cases in which physical purification is difficult, impossible, or expensive. A drawback of the method is finding a suitable reference for subtraction and obtaining T-positive and negative samples for qPCR testing. We describe our implementation of the method in the identification of the first gene from the germline-restricted chromosome of zebra finch. In that case computational filtering involved three references (R), sequentially removed over three cycles: an incomplete genomic assembly, raw genomic data, and transcriptomic data.

The purpose of this protocol is to use a combination of computational and bench research to find novel sequences that cannot be easily separated from a co-purifying sequence, which may be only partially known.

Subtractive genomics can be used in any research where the goal is to identify the sequence of a gene, protein, or general region that is embedded in a ...

Sequencing of mRNA from Whole Blood using Nanopore Sequencing

Sequencing in remote locations and resource-poor settings presents unique challenges. Nanopore sequencing can be successfully used under such conditions, and was deployed to West Africa during the recent Ebola virus epidemic, highlighting this possibility. In addition to its practical advantages (low cost, ease of equipment transport and use), this technology also provides fundamental advantages over second-generation sequencing approaches, particularly the very long read length, ability to directly sequence RNA, and real-time availability of data. Raw read accuracy is lower than with other sequencing platforms, which represents the main limitation of this technology; however, this can be partially mitigated by the high read depth generated. Here, we present a field-compatible protocol for sequencing of the mRNAs encoding for Niemann-Pick C1, which is the cellular receptor for ebolaviruses. This protocol encompasses extraction of RNA from animal blood samples, followed by RT-PCR for target enrichment, barcoding, library preparation, and the sequencing run itself, and can be easily adapted for use with other DNA or RNA targets.

Nanopore sequencing is a novel technology that allows cost-effective sequencing in remote locations and resource-poor settings. Here, we present a protocol for sequencing of mRNAs from whole blood that is compatible with such conditions.

Sequencing in remote locations and resource-poor settings presents unique challenges. Nanopore sequencing can be successfully used under such conditions, ...

Hybrid De Novo Genome Assembly for the Generation of Complete Genomes of Urinary Bacteria using Short- and Long-read Sequencing Technologies

Complete genome sequences provide valuable data for the understanding of genetic diversity and unique colonization factors of urinary microbes. These data may include mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids and extrachromosomal phage, that contribute to the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance and further complicate treatment of urinary tract infection (UTI). In addition to providing fine resolution of genome structure, complete, closed genomes allow for the detailed comparative genomics and evolutionary analyses. The generation of complete genomes de novo has long been a challenging task due to limitations of available sequencing technology. Paired-end Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) produces high quality short reads often resulting in accurate but fragmented genome assemblies. On the contrary, Nanopore sequencing provides long reads of lower quality normally leading to error-prone complete assemblies. Such errors may hamper genome-wide association studies or provide misleading variant analysis results. Therefore, hybrid approaches combining both short and long reads have emerged as reliable methods to achieve highly accurate closed bacterial genomes. Reported herein is a comprehensive method for the culture of diverse urinary bacteria, species identification by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, extraction of genomic DNA (gDNA), and generation of short and long reads by NGS and Nanopore platforms, respectively. Additionally, this method describes a bioinformatic pipeline of quality control, assembly, and gene prediction algorithms for the generation of annotated complete genome sequences. Combination of bioinformatic tools enables the selection of high quality read data for hybrid genome assembly and downstream analysis. The streamlined approach for the hybrid de novo genome assembly described in this protocol may be adapted for the use in any culturable bacteria.

Hybrid De Novo Genome Assembly for the Generation of Complete Genomes of Urinary Bacteria using Short- and Long-read Sequencing Technologies

This protocol details a comprehensive approach for the culturing, sequencing, and de novo hybrid genome assembly of urinary bacteria. It provides a reproducible procedure for the generation of complete, circular genome sequences useful in studying both chromosomal and extrachromosomal genetic elements contributing to urinary colonization, pathogenesis, and antimicrobial resistance dissemination.

Complete genome sequences provide valuable data for the understanding of genetic diversity and unique colonization factors of urinary microbes. These data ...

An Ultrahigh-throughput Microfluidic Platform for Single-cell Genome Sequencing

Sequencing technologies have undergone a paradigm shift from bulk to single-cell resolution in response to an evolving understanding of the role of cellular heterogeneity in biological systems. However, single-cell sequencing of large populations has been hampered by limitations in processing genomes for sequencing. In this paper, we describe a method for single-cell genome sequencing (SiC-seq) which uses droplet microfluidics to isolate, amplify, and barcode the genomes of single cells. Cell encapsulation in microgels allows the compartmentalized purification and tagmentation of DNA, while a microfluidic merger efficiently pairs each genome with a unique single-cell oligonucleotide barcode, allowing &gt;50,000 single cells to be sequenced per run. The sequencing data is demultiplexed by barcode, generating groups of reads originating from single cells. As a high-throughput and low-bias method of single-cell sequencing, SiC-seq will enable a broader range of genomic studies targeted at diverse cell populations.

Single-cell sequencing reveals genotypic heterogeneity in biological systems, but current technologies lack the throughput necessary for the deep profiling of community composition and function. Here, we describe a microfluidic workflow for sequencing &gt;50,000 single-cell genomes from diverse cell populations.

Sequencing technologies have undergone a paradigm shift from bulk to single-cell resolution in response to an evolving understanding of the role of ...

Ultra-long Read Sequencing for Whole Genomic DNA Analysis

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