Main menu

Is oxford nanopore sequencing ready for analyzing complex microbiomes?


This minireview will discuss the improvements in Oxford Nanopore sequencing technology which make the MinION a viable platform for microbial ecology studies. Specific issues being addressed are the increase in sequence accuracy from 65–96.5% during the last 5 years, the ability to obtain a quantifiable/predictive signal from the MinION with respect to target molecule abundance, simple-to-use GUI-based pathways for data analysis, and the modest additional equipment needs for sequencing in the field. Coupling these recent improvements with the low capital costs for equipment and the reasonable per sample cost makes MinION sequencing an attractive option for virtually any laboratory.

Authors: L J Kerkhof

Getting started

Buy a MinION starter pack Nanopore store Sequencing service providers Channel partners

Nanopore technology

Subscribe to Nanopore updates Resources and publications What is the Nanopore Community

About Oxford Nanopore

News Company timeline Sustainability Leadership team Media resources & contacts For investors For partners Working at Oxford Nanopore Current vacancies Commercial information BSI 27001 accreditationBSI 90001 accreditationBSI mark of trust
Spanish flag