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Knowledge Base/ Sequencing Methods/ Whole Bacterial/Fungal Genome Sequencing

Whole Bacterial/Fungal Genome Sequencing

Find out how whole-genome sequencing of bacteria or fungi is performed: from DNA extraction to assembly and annotation.

CATEGORY
NGS service list
PROJECT STAGE
01 · Sequencing methods
READING TIME
3 min
LAST UPDATED
21 January 2025
PREPARED BY
weSEQ.IT Technical Team
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Whole Bacterial / Fungal Genome Sequencing is an advanced sequencing method that determines an organism's complete genome sequence. This technique enables analysis of the entire DNA content.

Bacterial/Fungal WGS workflow

01DNA extraction: Sample collection and extraction of high-quality genomic DNA from a bacterial sample. Various methods are used, such as DNA extraction kits that remove contaminants and provide pure genetic material.
02Library preparation: DNA fragmentation and addition of sequencing adapters and indexes.
03Sequencing: Sequencing on Illumina, PacBio, or ONT (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) platforms.
04Bioinformatics analysis: Genome assembly to reconstruct the whole-genome sequence from short reads, followed by gene annotation and comparison with a reference genome.
Bacterial and fungal WGS workflow diagram

Applications of Bacterial/Fungal WGS

01Medical diagnostics:
  • Identification of pathogens responsible for bacterial infections.
  • Analysis of antibiotic resistance, including the detection of resistance genes such as bla, mecA, van).
  • Characterisation of bacterial strains to determine their pathogenic potential.
  • Diagnosis of fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus. Analysis of strains resistant to antifungal agents.
02Epidemiology:
  • Tracing infection sources during outbreaks, such as Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria.
  • Determining the genetic relatedness of strains across time and geographical locations.
  • Analysis of the relatedness of fungal strains in hospital and environmental infection outbreaks.
03Research:
  • Characterisation of novel bacterial species and their genomes.
  • Understanding adaptive mechanisms, for example in the environment or in response to antibiotic exposure.
  • Understanding fungal biology, including life cycles and mechanisms of pathogenesis. Investigation of genes involved in the production of secondary metabolites, such as antibiotics.
04Food safety:
  • Monitoring bacteria in the food supply chain, including the detection of pathogenic bacteria in the food industry.
  • Quality control and tracing of strains responsible for product contamination.
  • Detection of mycotoxin-producing fungi in food and animal feed, such as Aspergillus species that produce aflatoxins.
05Agriculture and animal health:
  • Analysis of bacterial pathogens affecting livestock.
  • Studies of the soil microbiome and the impact of bacteria on crop yields.
  • Analysis of fungal plant pathogens such as Fusarium, Phytophthora).
  • Studies of symbiotic fungi that improve plant health.
06Environmental microbiology:
  • Studies of microorganism diversity in ecosystems.
  • Analysis of the role of bacteria in biotechnological processes such as environmental remediation.
  • Applications in the pharmaceutical industry, such as penicillin production by Penicillium, the food industry, including fermentation, and the biofuel industry, such as cellulolytic enzymes.
  • Analysis of the role of fungi in nutrient cycling, including biomass degradation, and in bioremediation.

Technical specifications of Bacterial/Fungal WGS

  • Sequencing mode:
    • Illumina: 2 x 150 bp
    • ONT: 20kb
    • PacBio Revio: 10 kb-HiFi
  • Recommended genome coverage / amount of data per sample:
    • Bacterial WGS
      • Illumina (Draft map): 100 X
      • Nanopore: ≥ 100X ONT + 100X Illumina - gapless genome assembly
      • PacBio: 30X HiFi + 100X Illumina - gapless genome assembly
    • Fungal WGS
      • Illumina: 100X (Survey: 50X)
      • Nanopore: ≥ 100X ONT + 50X Illumina
      • PacBio: 30X HiFi + 50X Illumina

Sample Requirements

Minimum Sample Requirements - DNA/RNA (Illumina):

  • Sample type: gDNA
  • Amount: > 60 ng
  • Concentration (NanoDrop): >1 ng/μL
  • Volume: >20 μL

Minimum Sample Requirements - DNA/RNA (PacBio):

  • Sample type: gDNA
  • Amount: > 2μg
  • Concentration (NanoDrop): >20 ng/μL
  • Volume: >20 μL

Minimum Sample Requirements - DNA/RNA (ONT):

  • Sample type: gDNA
  • Amount: > 2μg
  • Concentration (NanoDrop): >50 ng/μL
  • Volume: >20 μL

We recommend submitting samples at quantities and concentrations above the minimum requirements.

DNA extraction from submitted samples is also available. Details here.

Bacterial/Fungal WGS bioinformatics analysis

  • Whole-genome resequencing of fungi (WGS): 
    • Detection of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
  • Genome assembly de novo:
    BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS SCOPE3 analyses
    Fungal/bacterial genome analysis (Illumina) Genome size estimation.
    Draft fungal/bacterial genome (Illumina) Analysis of genome components and functional annotation.
    High-quality fungal/bacterial genome (Illumina + ONT/PacBio) Analysis of genome components and functional annotation. Bacteria - genome visualisation using a Circos plot.

Example figures

Example plots from a bacterial WGS bioinformatics analysis report

Selected projects and client publications

See which institutions we perform next-generation sequencing (NGS) for and explore scientific publications that draw on the data we have supplied.

KEYWORDS
bacterial genomefungal genomeisolatesmicrobe WGSbacterial genome sequencing
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