The advantages of SMRT sequencing

Of the current next-generation sequencing technologies, SMRT sequencing is sometimes overlooked. However, attributes such as long reads, modified base detection and high accuracy make SMRT a useful technology and an ideal approach to the complete sequencing of small genomes.Pacific Biosciences'' single molecule, real-time sequencing technology, SMRT, is one of several next-generation sequencing technologies that are currently in use. In the past, it has been somewhat overlooked because of its lower throughput compared with methods such as Illumina and Ion Torrent, and because of persistent rumors that it is inaccurate. Here, we seek to dispel these misconceptions and show that SMRT is indeed a highly accurate method with many advantages when used to sequence small genomes, including the possibility of facile closure of bacterial genomes without additional experimentation. We also highlight its value in being able to detect modified bases in DNA.     

The advantages of SMRT sequencing

Of the current next-generation sequencing technologies, SMRT sequencing is sometimes overlooked. However, attributes such as long reads, modified base detection and high accuracy make SMRT a useful technology and an ideal approach to the complete sequencing of small genomes.Pacific Biosciences'' single molecule, real-time sequencing technology, SMRT, is one of several next-generation sequencing technologies that are currently in use. In the past, it has been somewhat overlooked because of its lower throughput compared with methods such as Illumina and Ion Torrent, and because of persistent rumors that it is inaccurate. Here, we seek to dispel these misconceptions and show that SMRT is indeed a highly accurate method with many advantages when used to sequence small genomes, including the possibility of facile closure of bacterial genomes without additional experimentation. We also highlight its value in being able to detect modified bases in DNA.     

单分子实时测序技术的原理与应用

单分子DNA测序技术是近10年发展起来的新一代测序技术,也称为第三代测序技术,包括单分子实时测序、真正单分子测序、单分子纳米孔测序等技术。文章介绍了单分子实时(Single-molecule real-time,SMRT)测序技术的基本原理、性能以及应用。与Sanger测序法和下一代测序技术相比,SMRT测序具有超长读长、测序周期短、无需模板扩增和直接检测表观修饰位点等特点,为研究人员提供了新选择。同时,SMRT测序的低准确率备受争议(约85%),其中约93%的错误是插入缺失,因此,其数据应用于基因组组装前需先对数据进行纠错处理。目前,SMRT测序在小型基因组从头测序和完整组装中已有良好应用,并且已经或将在表观遗传学、转录组学、大型基因组组装等领域发挥其优势,促进基因组学的研究。     

第三代测序技术的主要特点及其在病毒基因组研究中的应用

随着基因测序技术的创新和应用,新的高通量测序技术不断涌现,以Pacific Biosciences(PacBio)公司的单分子实时测序(single molecule real time sequencing)为代表的第三代测序(third generation sequencing,TGS)技术开始逐渐应用于基因组研究,包括大型基因组拼装、基因结构变异和表观遗传研究等方面。本文主要对TGS技术的原理、特点和应用,特别是在病毒研究中的应用进行介绍,并与第二代测序(next generation sequencing,NGS)技术进行比较,为基因组测序技术的选择及其临床应用提供一定参考。     

qDNAmod: a statistical model-based tool to reveal intercellular heterogeneity of DNA modification from SMRT sequencing data

In an isogenic cell population, phenotypic heterogeneity among individual cells is common and critical for survival of the population under different environment conditions. DNA modification is an important epigenetic factor that can regulate phenotypic heterogeneity. The single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology provides a unique platform for detecting a wide range of DNA modifications, including N6-methyladenine (6-mA), N4-methylcytosine (4-mC) and 5-methylcytosine (5-mC). Here we present qDNAmod, a novel bioinformatic tool for genome-wide quantitative profiling of intercellular heterogeneity of DNA modification from SMRT sequencing data. It is capable of estimating proportion of isogenic haploid cells, in which the same loci of the genome are differentially modified. We tested the reliability of qDNAmod with the SMRT sequencing data of Streptococcus pneumoniae strain ST556. qDNAmod detected extensive intercellular heterogeneity of DNA methylation (6-mA) in a clonal population of ST556. Subsequent biochemical analyses revealed that the recognition sequences of two type I restriction–modification (R-M) systems are responsible for the intercellular heterogeneity of DNA methylation initially identified by qDNAmod. qDNAmod thus represents a valuable tool for studying intercellular phenotypic heterogeneity from genome-wide DNA modification.     

HLA Typing for the Next Generation

Allele-level resolution data at primary HLA typing is the ideal for most histocompatibility testing laboratories. Many high-throughput molecular HLA typing approaches are unable to determine the phase of observed DNA sequence polymorphisms, leading to ambiguous results. The use of higher resolution methods is often restricted due to cost and time limitations. Here we report on the feasibility of using Pacific Biosciences’ Single Molecule Real-Time (SMRT) DNA sequencing technology for high-resolution and high-throughput HLA typing. Seven DNA samples were typed for HLA-A, -B and -C. The results showed that SMRT DNA sequencing technology was able to generate sequences that spanned entire HLA Class I genes that allowed for accurate allele calling. Eight novel genomic HLA class I sequences were identified, four were novel alleles, three were confirmed as genomic sequence extensions and one corrected an existing genomic reference sequence. This method has the potential to revolutionize the field of HLA typing. The clinical impact of achieving this level of resolution HLA typing data is likely to considerable, particularly in applications such as organ and blood stem cell transplantation where matching donors and recipients for their HLA is of utmost importance.     

单分子实时测序及其在微生物表观遗传学中的应用

表观遗传学对于微生物的生命进程起着重要作用。由限制-修饰系统调控的DNA修饰参与微生物的免疫防御系统,无限制-修饰系统调控的DNA修饰通过调控基因表达影响表型。然而,表观遗传信息还没有被常规地作为DNA信息收集分析。基于对DNA合成反应的动力学分析,单分子实时测序技术可以在获得基本序列数据的同时实现对被修饰核苷酸的检测。这个技术为微生物中已知DNA修饰的研究提供了新的平台,也为新型DNA修饰的发现做好准备。本文综述了单分子实时测序技术及其在微生物表观遗传学中的应用。     

Sensitive and specific single-molecule sequencing of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine

We describe strand-specific, base-resolution detection of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in genomic DNA with single-molecule sensitivity, combining a bioorthogonal, selective chemical labeling method of 5-hmC with single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing. The chemical labeling not only allows affinity enrichment of 5-hmC-containing DNA fragments but also enhances the kinetic signal of 5-hmC during SMRT sequencing. We applied the approach to sequence 5-hmC in a genomic DNA sample with high confidence.     

SMRT Sequencing of Long Tandem Nucleotide Repeats in SCA10 Reveals Unique Insight of Repeat Expansion Structure

A large, non-coding ATTCT repeat expansion causes the neurodegenerative disorder, spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 (SCA10). In a subset of SCA10 patients, interruption motifs are present at the 5’ end of the expansion and strongly correlate with epileptic seizures. Thus, interruption motifs are a predictor of the epileptic phenotype and are hypothesized to act as a phenotypic modifier in SCA10. Yet, the exact internal sequence structure of SCA10 expansions remains unknown due to limitations in current technologies for sequencing across long extended tracts of tandem nucleotide repeats. We used the third generation sequencing technology, Single Molecule Real Time (SMRT) sequencing, to obtain full-length contiguous expansion sequences, ranging from 2.5 to 4.4 kb in length, from three SCA10 patients with different clinical presentations. We obtained sequence spanning the entire length of the expansion and identified the structure of known and novel interruption motifs within the SCA10 expansion. The exact interruption patterns in expanded SCA10 alleles will allow us to further investigate the potential contributions of these interrupting sequences to the pathogenic modification leading to the epilepsy phenotype in SCA10. Our results also demonstrate that SMRT sequencing is useful for deciphering long tandem repeats that pose as “gaps” in the human genome sequence.     

Characterization of DNA methyltransferase specificities using single-molecule, real-time DNA sequencing

DNA methylation is the most common form of DNA modification in prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. We have applied the method of single-molecule, real-time (SMRT®) DNA sequencing that is capable of direct detection of modified bases at single-nucleotide resolution to characterize the specificity of several bacterial DNA methyltransferases (MTases). In addition to previously described SMRT sequencing of N6-methyladenine and 5-methylcytosine, we show that N4-methylcytosine also has a specific kinetic signature and is therefore identifiable using this approach. We demonstrate for all three prokaryotic methylation types that SMRT sequencing confirms the identity and position of the methylated base in cases where the MTase specificity was previously established by other methods. We then applied the method to determine the sequence context and methylated base identity for three MTases with unknown specificities. In addition, we also find evidence of unanticipated MTase promiscuity with some enzymes apparently also modifying sequences that are related, but not identical, to the cognate site.     

SMRT sequencing only de novo assembly of the sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) chloroplast genome

Background

Third generation sequencing methods, like SMRT (Single Molecule, Real-Time) sequencing developed by Pacific Biosciences, offer much longer read length in comparison to Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) methods. Hence, they are well suited for de novo- or re-sequencing projects. Sequences generated for these purposes will not only contain reads originating from the nuclear genome, but also a significant amount of reads originating from the organelles of the target organism. These reads are usually discarded but they can also be used for an assembly of organellar replicons. The long read length supports resolution of repetitive regions and repeats within the organelles genome which might be problematic when just using short read data. Additionally, SMRT sequencing is less influenced by GC rich areas and by long stretches of the same base.

Results

We describe a workflow for a de novo assembly of the sugar beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) chloroplast genome sequence only based on data originating from a SMRT sequencing dataset targeted on its nuclear genome. We show that the data obtained from such an experiment are sufficient to create a high quality assembly with a higher reliability than assemblies derived from e.g. Illumina reads only. The chloroplast genome is especially challenging for de novo assembling as it contains two large inverted repeat (IR) regions. We also describe some limitations that still apply even though long reads are used for the assembly.

Conclusions

SMRT sequencing reads extracted from a dataset created for nuclear genome (re)sequencing can be used to obtain a high quality de novo assembly of the chloroplast of the sequenced organism. Even with a relatively small overall coverage for the nuclear genome it is possible to collect more than enough reads to generate a high quality assembly that outperforms short read based assemblies. However, even with long reads it is not always possible to clarify the order of elements of a chloroplast genome sequence reliantly which we could demonstrate with Fosmid End Sequences (FES) generated with Sanger technology. Nevertheless, this limitation also applies to short read sequencing data but is reached in this case at a much earlier stage during finishing.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12859-015-0726-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Detecting DNA Modifications from SMRT Sequencing Data by Modeling Sequence Context Dependence of Polymerase Kinetic

DNA modifications such as methylation and DNA damage can play critical regulatory roles in biological systems. Single molecule, real time (SMRT) sequencing technology generates DNA sequences as well as DNA polymerase kinetic information that can be used for the direct detection of DNA modifications. We demonstrate that local sequence context has a strong impact on DNA polymerase kinetics in the neighborhood of the incorporation site during the DNA synthesis reaction, allowing for the possibility of estimating the expected kinetic rate of the enzyme at the incorporation site using kinetic rate information collected from existing SMRT sequencing data (historical data) covering the same local sequence contexts of interest. We develop an Empirical Bayesian hierarchical model for incorporating historical data. Our results show that the model could greatly increase DNA modification detection accuracy, and reduce requirement of control data coverage. For some DNA modifications that have a strong signal, a control sample is not even needed by using historical data as alternative to control. Thus, sequencing costs can be greatly reduced by using the model. We implemented the model in a R package named seqPatch, which is available at https://github.com/zhixingfeng/seqPatch.     

Single‐molecule real‐time sequencing reveals diverse allelic variations in carotenoid biosynthetic genes in pepper (Capsicum spp.)

The diverse colours of mature pepper (Capsicum spp.) fruit result from the accumulation of different carotenoids. The carotenoid biosynthetic pathway has been well elucidated in Solanaceous plants, and analysis of candidate genes involved in this process has revealed variations in carotenoid biosynthetic genes in Capsicum spp. However, the allelic variations revealed by previous studies could not fully explain the variation in fruit colour in Capsicum spp. due to technical difficulties in detecting allelic variation in multiple candidate genes in numerous samples. In this study, we uncovered allelic variations in six carotenoid biosynthetic genes, including phytoene synthase (PSY1, PSY2), lycopene β‐cyclase, β‐carotene hydroxylase, zeaxanthin epoxidase and capsanthin‐capsorubin synthase (CCS) genes, in 94 pepper accessions by single‐molecule real‐time (SMRT) sequencing. To investigate the relationship between allelic variations in the candidate genes and differences in fruit colour, we performed ultra‐performance liquid chromatography analysis using 43 accessions representing each allelic variation. Different combinations of dysfunctional mutations in PSY1 and CCS could explain variation in the compositions and levels of carotenoids in the accessions examined in this study. Our results demonstrate that SMRT sequencing technology can be used to rapidly identify allelic variation in target genes in various germplasms. The newly identified allelic variants will be useful for pepper breeding and for further analysis of carotenoid biosynthesis pathways.     

Multiplexed highly-accurate DNA sequencing of closely-related HIV-1 variants using continuous long reads from single molecule,real-time sequencing

Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT^®) Sequencing (Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, CA, USA) provides the longest continuous DNA sequencing reads currently available. However, the relatively high error rate in the raw read data requires novel analysis methods to deconvolute sequences derived from complex samples. Here, we present a workflow of novel computer algorithms able to reconstruct viral variant genomes present in mixtures with an accuracy of >QV50. This approach relies exclusively on Continuous Long Reads (CLR), which are the raw reads generated during SMRT Sequencing. We successfully implement this workflow for simultaneous sequencing of mixtures containing up to forty different >9 kb HIV-1 full genomes. This was achieved using a single SMRT Cell for each mixture and desktop computing power. This novel approach opens the possibility of solving complex sequencing tasks that currently lack a solution.     

RNA sequencing: new technologies and applications in cancer research

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a fatal hematopoietic malignancy and has a prognosis that varies with its genetic complexity. However, there has been no appropriate integrative analysis on the hierarchy of different AML subtypes. Using Microwell-seq, a high-throughput single-cell mRNA sequencing platform, we analyzed the cellular hierarchy of bone marrow samples from 40 patients and 3 healthy donors. We also used single-cell single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing to investigate the clonal heterogeneity of AML cells. From the integrative analysis of 191727 AML cells, we established a single-cell AML landscape and identified an AML progenitor cell cluster with novel AML markers. Patients with ribosomal protein high progenitor cells had a low remission rate. We deduced two types of AML with diverse clinical outcomes. We traced mitochondrial mutations in the AML landscape by combining Microwell-seq with SMRT sequencing. We propose the existence of a phenotypic “cancer attractor” that might help to define a common phenotype for AML progenitor cells. Finally, we explored the potential drug targets by making comparisons between the AML landscape and the Human Cell Landscape. We identified a key AML progenitor cell cluster. A high ribosomal protein gene level indicates the poor prognosis. We deduced two types of AML and explored the potential drug targets. Our results suggest the existence of a cancer attractor.     

双歧杆菌属特异性测序引物筛选及优化

【背景】目前双歧杆菌的益生功能被普遍认可,越来越多的研究开始关注肠道中双歧杆菌的生物多样性。然而双歧杆菌是肠道中的低丰度物种,现有技术尚难以深入研究其多样性。【目的】基于双歧杆菌16SrRNA基因序列筛选一对适用于分析粪便样品中低丰度双歧杆菌属多样性的特异性引物。【方法】依据已有引物的相对位置及其与双歧杆菌属16S rRNA基因序列的匹配率,将引物重组优化得到扩增片段800 bp的双歧杆菌属特异性引物;通过PCR扩增和琼脂糖凝胶电泳对引物进行实验筛选和特异性验证;以细菌通用引物(27f/1492r)为参照,通过单分子实时(Single-molecule real-time,SMRT)测序技术对不同引物的3份粪便样品中细菌的DNA扩增子进行测序,在种水平上分析比较不同引物的优劣。【结果】对文献中已有的9对双歧杆菌特异性引物进行重组并优化,其中2对引物的理论特异性较好且扩增产物大于800 bp,它们分别为Bif164-f/Pbi R2和Pbi F1/Pbi R2。PCR扩增和琼脂糖凝胶电泳实验发现,Bif164-f/Pbi R2的扩增条带明亮且无拖尾。此外,利用SMRT测序平台对引物27f/1492r和Bif164-f/Pbi R2的3份粪便样品中细菌的DNA扩增子进行测序并分析。27f/1492r扩增子的分析结果显示,3份样品依次分别含1、3、4个双歧杆菌种且双歧杆菌的平均相对含量为0.34%;而Bif164-f/Pbi R2扩增子的分析结果显示,3份样品依次分别含2、6和8个双歧杆菌种且双歧杆菌的平均相对含量为98.72%。上述结果表明,Bif164-f/Pbi R2可在种水平上特异地检出粪便中低丰度的双歧杆菌,进而实现样品中双歧杆菌的多样性分析。【结论】筛选出一对双歧杆菌特异性引物Bif164-f/PbiR2,可在种水平上分析粪便样品中低丰度双歧杆菌的生物多样性,同时也验证了理论结合实验进行引物筛选这种方法的可行性。