Main menu

Ultra-long reads and ultra-long duplications: What nanopore sequencing is revealing about Bordetella pertussis


The B. pertussis genome is repetitive. The average B. pertussis genome contains 280 copies of >1,000 bp insertion sequence (IS) elements, representing ~7% of the 4.1 Mb total genome length. The many IS copies mean that closed genome assemblies cannot be produced using short-read sequencing (e.g. Illumina), because each IS element is longer than the short reads. B. pertussis is traditionally described as a monomorphic species: very few base-level differences exist between different strains. The presence of so many mobile IS elements in the genome, however, means that genome-level differences, such as rearrangements, deletions and duplications, are possible. We are using long-read sequencing to identity genome-level differences between otherwise highly similar B. pertussis strains.

Download the PDF

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