MetaCONNET: A metagenomic polishing tool for long-read assemblies.

Accurate and high coverage genome assemblies are the basis for downstream analysis of metagenomic studies. Long-read sequencing technology is an ideal tool to facilitate the assemblies of metagenome, except for the drawback of usually producing reads with high sequencing error rate. Many polishing tools were developed to correct the sequencing error, but most are designed on the ground of one or two species.

Engineering psychrophilic polymerase for nanopore long-read sequencing.

Unveiling the potential application of psychrophilic polymerases as candidates for polymerase-nanopore long-read sequencing presents a departure from conventional choices such as thermophilic stearothermophilus (Bst) renowned for its limitation in temperature and mesophilic phage (phi29) polymerases for limitations in strong exonuclease activity and weak salt tolerance. Exploiting the PB-Bst fusion DNA polymerases from Psychrobacillus (PB) and stearothermophilus (Bst), our structural and biochemical analysis reveal a remarkable enhancement in salt tolerance and a concurrent reduction in exonuclease activity, achieved through targeted substitution of a pivotal functional domain. The sulfolobus 7-kDa protein (Sso7d) emerges as a standout fusion domain, imparting significant improvements in PB-Bst processivity.

The epidemic of Q fever in 2018 to 2019 in Zhuhai city of China determined by metagenomic next-generation sequencing.

Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii (Cb). From January 2018 to November 2019, plasma samples from 2,382 patients with acute fever of unknown cause at a hospital in Zhuhai city of China were tested using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). Of those tested, 138 patients (5.

The clinical significance of simultaneous detection of pathogens from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and blood samples by metagenomic next-generation sequencing in patients with severe pneumonia.

Bloodstream infection is a common complication in patients with severe pneumonia and is regarded as an independent risk factor for prediction of poor outcome. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has been widely applied for pathogen determination of various clinical specimens from patients with infectious diseases. However, the clinical significance of and necessity for simultaneous pathogen detection of both blood samples and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) by mNGS in patients with severe pneumonia remains unclear.