London Calling 2023: Practical uses of nanopore long-read sequencing in a high-throughput contract food microbiology laboratory

Nanopore sequencing is a versatile tool for a commercial laboratory with clients that demand fast turnaround and low cost. Eurofins Microbiology Laboratory based in Madison, Wisconsin, utilizes the technology to answer a variety of questions posed by their clients including, but not limited to, food and environmental pathogen confirmation, food spoilage investigations, probiotic multi-strain blend identifications, and microbiome analyses of fermentation-derived food, beverage, and dietary supplement products. The robustness of the platform allows for a multitude of different uses in a contract lab setting where the focus is data-driven answers for a diverse client base and an interlaboratory network, as shown by the case studies highlighted in this presentation.