The MinION Nanopore sequencerMany of us has heard of DNA sequencing and many news and journalism sites often brag about the use of DNA sequencing as an extremely robust and advanced technique. That is true but it is also very accessible compared to a decade ago. “The Cost of Sequencing a Human Genome,” National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). [Online]. Available: https://www.genome.gov/27565109/the-cost-of-sequencing-a-human-genome/. [Accessed: 23-Jun-2018]. Sequencing technology has advanced so far that prices has dropped from almost $10,000 per megabase to less than a dollar per megabase. The graph above shows the rapid rate of increasing affordability of DNA sequencing, dropping by half almost every year. I have been lucky enough to have hands-on experience with the MinION and I'm here to share my experience with it. The general pipeline of using the sequencer is as follows: Extraction of Genomic DNA (gDNA) -> Library prep -> Loading of DNA samples into the MinION flow cell -> Sequence analysis. gDNA is routinely prepped via kits such as the Qiagen gDNA extraction kit but needs to be prepped by a library kit by Oxford Nanopore Technologies. The prepared sample is then loaded into the sequencer's flow cell and the sequencing is ran on the MinKNOW program. Simple as that! DNA bases are moved through a nuclear pore that is usually used in nature to move DNA in and out of he nucleus of a cell and what is unique about this is that this pore has been modified to be able to change the current that corresponds to the DNA bases: A, T, G and C. This allows us to do sequencing according to the current recorded. What so revolutionary is the size of a DNA sequencer. Unlike the huge conventional sequencers like Illumina, the sequencer, about 9 inches, is small enough to be bought out to field for DNA sequencing, assuming the necessary equipment is available. This means that, with the proper training and equipment, clinics and hospitals may be able to bring this technology to the general public for precision and personalized medication.
The real work comes from the downstream processing of the data you get from the sequencer which may require a bioinformatician to analyze the data. In 50 years when such analysis is a common skill and this technology is cheap enough for clinicians, this can be a real game-changer to diagnosis for illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and many others.
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