Abstract
In light of widespread resurgence of the respiratory disease whooping cough, ongoing research aims to identify changes to the causative bacterium, Bordetella pertussis. B. pertussis is traditionally described as a highly clonal species at the single-base level, hence our research largely focusses on identifying differences between strains on a whole-genome scale. Long-read sequencing has enabled us to produce closed genome sequences for B. pertussis isolates on an unprecedented scale, allowing visualisation of extensive inter-strain genomic rearrangements. This work also led to the unexpected discovery of a second phenomenon: large duplications which are present in some recent isolates but not in the B. pertussis reference genome. Intriguingly, these duplications may be present in only a fraction of the cells of duplication-carrying strains. At London Calling, I will discuss this developing story, including the essential role of long and ultra-long nanopore sequencing in proving the existence of the duplications and characterising variable populations, alongside continuing work to quantify the phenotypic effects of the duplications.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 24 May 2019 |
Event | London Calling: Oxford Nanopore Technologies Annual Meeting - Old Billingsgate, London, UK United Kingdom Duration: 22 May 2019 → 24 May 2019 https://londoncallingconf.co.uk/lc19 |
Conference
Conference | London Calling: Oxford Nanopore Technologies Annual Meeting |
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Country/Territory | UK United Kingdom |
City | London |
Period | 22/05/19 → 24/05/19 |
Internet address |