Public health + surveillance
Protecting global health is best accomplished through comprehensive surveillance, complete genomic information, and accurate tracking. Tremendous progress has been made since technology first enabled the routine sequencing of pathogenic microbes.
The complete picture
Build a more comprehensive genomic view of microbial pathogens
The advent of Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) sequencing has radically increased the understanding of microbial genomics, pathogenicity, and antimicrobial resistance. The PacBio systems deliver the most comprehensive genetic information available, and with SMRT sequencing, federal agencies, healthcare centers, and other public health organizations have the ability to:
- Generate complete genome assemblies and gain a deeper understanding of community-acquired and hospital associated infections and transmission.
- Use microbial epigenetics to further characterize global outbreaks, pandemics, and epidemics.
- Inform local and global preparedness and response to seasonal and annual infections by rapidly resolving viral populations.
- Characterize microbial communities with culture-free methods to support surveillance and tracking foodborne pathogens
Solutions Guide
A new standard in pathogen genomics
Detect, track, and characterize pathogens to a new standard of completeness and precision. PacBio® solutions offer unmatched accuracy and long read lengths to support a wide range of pathogen surveillance applications.
Learn how other scientists have used SMRT Sequencing to advance public health:
- A Living Legacy of Microbiology Celebrates 100 Years
- Keeping a Close Eye on MRSA: Lessons Learned from PacBio Sequencing Surveillance
- The Antibiotic Arms Race: Tracking K. pneumoniae in a Hospital Setting
- For Pandemic Surveillance, Labcorp Scientists Sequence Thousands of SARS-CoV-2 Samples with HiFi Reads
- NARMS Scientists Track Antibiotic Resistance in Foodborne Bacteria Using SMRT Sequencing
- TB Study Finds Some Previously Reported Virulence Variants Were Sequencing Errors
- Scientists Investigate Minor Influenza Strains in Pandemic, Revealing New Clues in Flu Transmission
Spotlight
HiFi reads reveal emergence of SARS-CoV-2 minor variants during acute infection
A longitudinal study of a person who ultimately recovered showed that spike variants resistant to autologous neutralizing antibodies arose transiently before being displaced by the original strain ahead of virus clearance. Application of the method to more diverse cohorts may reveal circumstances under which variants capable of immune escape emerge and persist.
Watch Dr. Eli Boritz present his research at our webinar, Beyond COVID-19: The Long and the Short of Why Virologists Use HiFi Sequencing.
Ko, S. H., et al. (2021) High-throughput, single-copy sequencing reveals SARS-CoV-2 spike variants coincident with mounting humoral immunity during acute COVID-19. PLOS Pathogens. 17(4): e1009431.
Spotlight
Long-reads shed light on the genetics of antibiotic resistance
Scientists interrogated the mobilome of drug resistant bacteria to understand their capacity for adaptation. This research showed that replicative transposons and homologous recombination are driving forces in rearrangements and evolution of resistance plasmids. Explore this research further:
He, S. et al., 2016. Mechanisms of evolution in high-consequence drug resistance plasmids. mBio, 7(6), pp.e01987–16.