Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing

Plasmid construction is central to life science research, and sequence verification is arguably its costliest step. Long-read sequencing has emerged as a competitor to Sanger sequencing, with the principal benefit that whole plasmids can be sequenced in a single run. Nevertheless, the current cost o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masaaki Uematsu, Jeremy M Baskin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2025-04-01
Series:eLife
Subjects:
Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/88794
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849712276499595264
author Masaaki Uematsu
Jeremy M Baskin
author_facet Masaaki Uematsu
Jeremy M Baskin
author_sort Masaaki Uematsu
collection DOAJ
description Plasmid construction is central to life science research, and sequence verification is arguably its costliest step. Long-read sequencing has emerged as a competitor to Sanger sequencing, with the principal benefit that whole plasmids can be sequenced in a single run. Nevertheless, the current cost of nanopore sequencing is still prohibitive for routine sequencing during plasmid construction. We develop a computational approach termed Simple Algorithm for Very Efficient Multiplexing of Oxford Nanopore Experiments for You (SAVEMONEY) that guides researchers to mix multiple plasmids and subsequently computationally de-mixes the resultant sequences. SAVEMONEY defines optimal mixtures in a pre-survey step, and following sequencing, executes a post-analysis workflow involving sequence classification, alignment, and consensus determination. By using Bayesian analysis with prior probability of expected plasmid construction error rate, high-confidence sequences can be obtained for each plasmid in the mixture. Plasmids differing by as little as two bases can be mixed as a single sample for nanopore sequencing, and routine multiplexing of even six plasmids per 180 reads can still maintain high accuracy of consensus sequencing. SAVEMONEY should further democratize whole-plasmid sequencing by nanopore and related technologies, driving down the effective cost of whole-plasmid sequencing to lower than that of a single Sanger sequencing run.
format Article
id doaj-art-4d1c3ffc43544e5ebbe2a8dd49eee777
institution DOAJ
issn 2050-084X
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
record_format Article
series eLife
spelling doaj-art-4d1c3ffc43544e5ebbe2a8dd49eee7772025-08-20T03:14:19ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-04-011210.7554/eLife.88794Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencingMasaaki Uematsu0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0197-8401Jeremy M Baskin1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2939-3138Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, United StatesWeill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, United StatesPlasmid construction is central to life science research, and sequence verification is arguably its costliest step. Long-read sequencing has emerged as a competitor to Sanger sequencing, with the principal benefit that whole plasmids can be sequenced in a single run. Nevertheless, the current cost of nanopore sequencing is still prohibitive for routine sequencing during plasmid construction. We develop a computational approach termed Simple Algorithm for Very Efficient Multiplexing of Oxford Nanopore Experiments for You (SAVEMONEY) that guides researchers to mix multiple plasmids and subsequently computationally de-mixes the resultant sequences. SAVEMONEY defines optimal mixtures in a pre-survey step, and following sequencing, executes a post-analysis workflow involving sequence classification, alignment, and consensus determination. By using Bayesian analysis with prior probability of expected plasmid construction error rate, high-confidence sequences can be obtained for each plasmid in the mixture. Plasmids differing by as little as two bases can be mixed as a single sample for nanopore sequencing, and routine multiplexing of even six plasmids per 180 reads can still maintain high accuracy of consensus sequencing. SAVEMONEY should further democratize whole-plasmid sequencing by nanopore and related technologies, driving down the effective cost of whole-plasmid sequencing to lower than that of a single Sanger sequencing run.https://elifesciences.org/articles/88794nanopore sequencingBayesian analysiswhole-plasmid sequencingplasmid sequencing
spellingShingle Masaaki Uematsu
Jeremy M Baskin
Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing
eLife
nanopore sequencing
Bayesian analysis
whole-plasmid sequencing
plasmid sequencing
title Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing
title_full Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing
title_fullStr Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing
title_full_unstemmed Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing
title_short Barcode-free multiplex plasmid sequencing using Bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing
title_sort barcode free multiplex plasmid sequencing using bayesian analysis and nanopore sequencing
topic nanopore sequencing
Bayesian analysis
whole-plasmid sequencing
plasmid sequencing
url https://elifesciences.org/articles/88794
work_keys_str_mv AT masaakiuematsu barcodefreemultiplexplasmidsequencingusingbayesiananalysisandnanoporesequencing
AT jeremymbaskin barcodefreemultiplexplasmidsequencingusingbayesiananalysisandnanoporesequencing