Data from: Barcoding 100K specimens in a single nanopore run

It is a global priority to better manage the biosphere, but action must be
informed by comprehensive data on the abundance and distribution of
species. The acquisition of such information is currently constrained by
 high costs. DNA barcoding can speed the registration of unknown
animal species, the most diverse kingdom of eukaryotes, as the BIN system
automates their recognition. However, inexpensive protocols are critical
as the census of all animal species is likely to require the analysis of a
billion or more specimens. Barcoding involves DNA extraction followed by
PCR and sequencing with the last step dominating costs until 2017. By
enabling the sequencing of highly multiplexed samples, the Sequel
platforms from Pacific BioSciences slashed costs by 90%, but these
instruments are only deployed in core facilities because of their expense.
Sequencers from Oxford Nanopore Technologies provide an escape from high
capital and service costs, but their low sequence fidelity has, until
recently, constrained adoption. However, the improved performance of its
latest flow cells (R10.4.1) can erase this barrier. This study
demonstrates that a MinION flow cell can characterize an amplicon pool
derived from 100,000 specimens while a Flongle flow cell can process one
derived from several thousand. At $0.01 per specimen, DNA sequencing is
now the least expensive step in the barcode workflow.