Real-time species typing and analysis of antibiotic resistance potential using Nanopore MinION sequencing

Clinical pathogen sequencing has been demonstrated to have a positive outcome on treatment of patients with unknown bacterial infection. However, the lack of real-time sequencing technologies has impeded the clinical applicability of sequencing technology. We demonstrated that miniature Oxford Nanopore sequencing device, MinION can identify bacterial species and strain information with less than 1 hour of sequencing time and drug-resistance profile can be determined within 12 hours of sequencing time. We anticipate these devices will fast become indispensable tools for informing treatment for patients with bacterial infection.