Inferring MIRU-VNTR patterns from genomic data

The transition from molecular, based on MIRU-VNTR analysis, to genomic epidemiology in tuberculosis has meant a real transformation in the precision in which we can track transmission dynamics. However, the most common scheme to perform genomic analysis, short read sequencing, is impaired to analyse repetitive regions such as the loci involving in MIRU-VNTR analysis. It means that we are facing a gap between the new genomic data and the loads of information accumlated in historical databases and also, impeding the transnational surveillance with setting where only molecular data are obtained. Long-read sequecning might help to solve this gap, as it allows the analysis of repetitive regions.