Increase accuracy in taxonomic classifications without subculturing
In conversations with QC pharmaceutical professionals, members of our Technology and Market Development team have heard calls for:
- Understanding naturally occurring populations of microbes, and how to respond confidently when there is a spike or difference
- A service that identifies issues early and prevents minor issues from becoming critical issues
- A single test that can analyze an entire genome, reducing time and cost of analysis
That drove the Accugenix team to build a microbial whole genome sequencing service that could:
- Study and track the origins of contaminations, even for traditionally unculturable organisms
- Increase accuracy in taxonomic classifications of microorganisms versus traditional sequencing methods that subculture pure isolates which can be time consuming and may require significant labor
- Provide deeper insights into the origins and differentiations of microorganisms by understanding the causative relationships between microbial strains and species
Accugenix WGS Case Study – Available for a limited time
Learn how a pharmaceutical company used Accugenix Whole Genome Sequencing to identify sources of contamination, track areas common to each strain, learn how that organism spread through the environment, and eliminate sources of contamination.
Read the Case Study
Accugenix Microbial Whole Genome Sequencing (Accugenix WGS)
Accugenix WGS was developed to address the challenges and limitations of traditional sequencing methods, empowering customers to understand organisms’ genes and variants to a degree that has historically not been possible. In addition, our service provides world class automated workflows and experts who can support contamination identification and response strategy, so effective meaningful action may be taken.
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Benefits of Accugenix WGS
- Analyzes entire genomes in a single test, reducing the time and cost required
- International processing
- Delivers a comprehensive view of the entire genome
- Study genetic variation across the entire genome
- Captures both large and small variants that might be missed with targeted approaches
- Identifies variants for further follow-up studies
Have questions or want more information? Schedule a step-by-step walkthrough today.
Next Generation Sequencing for Bacterial Identification and Fungal ID FAQs
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What is whole genome sequencing of bacteria?
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) using NGS technologies is a comprehensive method for analyzing entire genomes. DNA and/or RNA is extracted from the sample (pure or mixed population) and the whole genome is sequenced over a series of unique reads. NGS results provide a high-resolution base-by-base view of the genome. Unlike traditional sanger sequencing techniques which focus on a region of the bacterial genome (16S) WGS enables sequencing of the full bacterial genome, resulting in a circularized bacterial genome, providing information about genes of variants at a level never before possible.
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What are some of the applications of bacterial whole genome sequencing services?
- Identify bacterial and fungal genes (virulence factors, toxin genes and AMR genes)
- Strain Typing applications, to genetically compare isolates belonging to the same species
- Strain comparison of organisms to track contamination events
- Plasmid QC confirmation
- Bacteriophage screening
- Microbial cell line characterization and stability testing
- Microbial genome assembly and annotation (including de-novo assembly of novel species)
- Contamination identification
- RNA transcriptomics
- Genome transcription assembly and annotation
- CRISPR target confirmation
- Characterization and annotation of cell lines, plasmids and/or novel organisms
- Adventitious agent testing
- Metagenomic analysis
- Profiling of mixed populations
- Identification of non-culturable organisms
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What are the advantages of whole genome sequencing in microbiology?
Fungal and bacterial whole genome sequencing services enable an understanding of our microbial populations at a level never before possible. Advantages include:
- Identification of non-culturable organisms and mixed species cultures or communities
- No prior knowledge of organisms for contamination detection needed
- Less dependent on prior knowledge of the organism for strain typing
- Risk assessment based on gene profiling
- Elimination of lengthy growth requirements
- Ability to rapidly and cost effectively sequence entire genomes and plasmids
- Detection of genes and variants not possible using traditional techniques
- Strain level identification
- Additional information from whole genome sequencing to in theory enable separation of closely related species* groups
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When was the first whole genome of a bacteria sequenced?
1995, The Institute for Genomic Research sequenced the first complete bacterial genome, Haemophilus influenzae in 1995. A few months later, the institute also sequenced the full genome for Mycoplasma genitalium. Since 1995 sequencing technologies have advanced dramatically, a full bacterial genome can now be sequenced in a matter of hours as opposed to months+.
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How do automated workflows aid in identifying contamination and developing response strategies?
Automated workflows as part of fungal and bacterial whole genome sequencing services aid in standardizing sample processing and analysis and increasing speed to result. The way samples are prepared and analyzed can have a huge impact on the overall results for NGS workflows. Standardizing the preparation and analysis ensures consistent results over time, enabling accurate comparison among data sets, resulting in high quality, robust, repeatable results. In a contamination event timeline is everything. Fast accurate techniques are required to ensure a speedy response to CAPA investigations. Automating techniques ensures competitive turnaround times and enables faster time to results and closure of investigations more quickly.