NCM 2022: MinION outcome in amateur research: three genomes from 2018 to 2022

The Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION platform presents a compelling new research tool for modern amateur researchers. However, practical examples of MinION usage in amateur settings are still few, and overwhelmingly represent people with existing academic, technical, or professional backgrounds. We present three MinION sequencing, assembly, and analysis projects carried out from 2018 to 2022 by adult amateur researchers without prior training, describing first plastid genome (2018) of the plant Oxalis stricta (CM045551.1), first closed genome (2019) of the bacterium Deinococcus radiophilus (GCF_020889625.1), and first genome (2022) of the archaea Halococcus dombrowskii (GCF_022870485.1). Analysis of each of genome revealed unexpected and unique mechanisms and suggests avenues for further, in-depth research.