In Nature this week, a team of UK researchers report on a genomic surveillance system that is the size of a suitcase and can be transported to the field to provide on-site Ebola virus genome sequencing within 24 hours of sample collection. The researchers demonstrated the system with 142 Ebola virus samples collected in 2015 and say their work shows that real-time genomic surveillance is possible even in resource-limited settings to rapidly monitor outbreaks. GenomeWeb has more on this here.
And in Nature Communications this week, two independent research teams report the genome sequence of the bed bug, Cimex lectularius, together providing insights into the genetic basis of how the parasite adapted to feeding on blood and developed insecticide resistance. In the first paper, a group led by scientists from the American Museum of Natural History sequenced and assembled the genome of the bed bug and identify all genes expressed during the five immature stages, as well as in adult males and females. In the second paper, a group led by researchers from the University of Cincinnati also reports the assembled bed bug genome, and also predict which sequences code for proteins and the likely biological functions of those proteins. GenomeWeb also covers the bed bug genome here.
Finally, in Nature Biotechnology, a team from Stanford University and 10X Genomics present the details of a microfluidics-based, linked-read sequencing technology that can phase and haplotype germline and cancer genomes using nanograms of input DNA. The platform is high-throughput and can prepare barcoded libraries for short-read sequencing and computationally reconstructs long-range haplotype and structural variant information. The authors say that their system can resolve haplotype information using up to 100 times less genomic DNA than some methods and enables the accurate detection of structural variants. There's more on this, too, here.