Targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long-read nanopore sequencing

Abstract Among molecular-based techniques for fungal identification, Sanger sequencing of the primary universal fungal DNA barcode, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2), is commonly used in clinical routine laboratories due to its simplicity, universality, efficacy, and af...

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Main Authors: Nattapong Langsiri, Navaporn Worasilchai, Laszlo Irinyi, Piroon Jenjaroenpun, Thidathip Wongsurawat, Janet Jennifer Luangsa-ard, Wieland Meyer, Ariya Chindamporn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2023-09-01
Series:IMA Fungus
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00125-6
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author Nattapong Langsiri
Navaporn Worasilchai
Laszlo Irinyi
Piroon Jenjaroenpun
Thidathip Wongsurawat
Janet Jennifer Luangsa-ard
Wieland Meyer
Ariya Chindamporn
author_facet Nattapong Langsiri
Navaporn Worasilchai
Laszlo Irinyi
Piroon Jenjaroenpun
Thidathip Wongsurawat
Janet Jennifer Luangsa-ard
Wieland Meyer
Ariya Chindamporn
author_sort Nattapong Langsiri
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Among molecular-based techniques for fungal identification, Sanger sequencing of the primary universal fungal DNA barcode, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2), is commonly used in clinical routine laboratories due to its simplicity, universality, efficacy, and affordability for fungal species identification. However, Sanger sequencing fails to identify mixed ITS sequences in the case of mixed infections. To overcome this limitation, different high-throughput sequencing technologies have been explored. The nanopore-based technology is now one of the most promising long-read sequencing technologies on the market as it has the potential to sequence the full-length ITS region in a single read. In this study, we established a workflow for species identification using the sequences of the entire ITS region generated by nanopore sequencing of both pure yeast isolates and mocked mixed species reads generated with different scenarios. The species used in this study included Candida albicans (n = 2), Candida tropicalis (n = 1), Nakaseomyces glabratus (formerly Candida glabrata) (n = 1), Trichosporon asahii (n = 2), Pichia kudriavzevii (formerly Candida krusei) (n = 1), and Cryptococcus neoformans (n = 1). Comparing various methods to generate the consensus sequence for fungal species identification, the results from this study indicate that read clustering using a modified version of the NanoCLUST pipeline is more sensitive than Canu or VSEARCH, as it classified species accurately with a lower abundance cluster of reads (3% abundance compared to 10% with VSEARCH). The modified NanoCLUST also reduced the number of classified clusters compared to VSEARCH, making the subsequent BLAST+ analysis faster. Subsampling of the datasets, which reduces the size of the datasets by approximately tenfold, did not significantly affect the identification results in terms of the identified species name, percent identity, query coverage, percentage of reads in the classified cluster, and the number of clusters. The ability of the method to distinguish mixed species within sub-populations of large datasets has the potential to aid computer analysis by reducing the required processing power. The herein presented new sequence analysis pipeline will facilitate better interpretation of fungal sequence data for species identification.
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spelling doaj-art-3c2af0dc03144395b74c0c8bf097adcf2025-02-03T08:46:55ZengBMCIMA Fungus2210-63592023-09-0114111810.1186/s43008-023-00125-6Targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long-read nanopore sequencingNattapong Langsiri0Navaporn Worasilchai1Laszlo Irinyi2Piroon Jenjaroenpun3Thidathip Wongsurawat4Janet Jennifer Luangsa-ard5Wieland Meyer6Ariya Chindamporn7Medical Microbiology, Interdisciplinary Program, Graduated School, Chulalongkorn UniversityDepartment of Transfusion Medicine and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Allied Health Science, Chulalongkorn UniversityWestmead Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of SydneyDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesNational Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)Westmead Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of SydneyMedical Microbiology, Interdisciplinary Program, Graduated School, Chulalongkorn UniversityAbstract Among molecular-based techniques for fungal identification, Sanger sequencing of the primary universal fungal DNA barcode, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2), is commonly used in clinical routine laboratories due to its simplicity, universality, efficacy, and affordability for fungal species identification. However, Sanger sequencing fails to identify mixed ITS sequences in the case of mixed infections. To overcome this limitation, different high-throughput sequencing technologies have been explored. The nanopore-based technology is now one of the most promising long-read sequencing technologies on the market as it has the potential to sequence the full-length ITS region in a single read. In this study, we established a workflow for species identification using the sequences of the entire ITS region generated by nanopore sequencing of both pure yeast isolates and mocked mixed species reads generated with different scenarios. The species used in this study included Candida albicans (n = 2), Candida tropicalis (n = 1), Nakaseomyces glabratus (formerly Candida glabrata) (n = 1), Trichosporon asahii (n = 2), Pichia kudriavzevii (formerly Candida krusei) (n = 1), and Cryptococcus neoformans (n = 1). Comparing various methods to generate the consensus sequence for fungal species identification, the results from this study indicate that read clustering using a modified version of the NanoCLUST pipeline is more sensitive than Canu or VSEARCH, as it classified species accurately with a lower abundance cluster of reads (3% abundance compared to 10% with VSEARCH). The modified NanoCLUST also reduced the number of classified clusters compared to VSEARCH, making the subsequent BLAST+ analysis faster. Subsampling of the datasets, which reduces the size of the datasets by approximately tenfold, did not significantly affect the identification results in terms of the identified species name, percent identity, query coverage, percentage of reads in the classified cluster, and the number of clusters. The ability of the method to distinguish mixed species within sub-populations of large datasets has the potential to aid computer analysis by reducing the required processing power. The herein presented new sequence analysis pipeline will facilitate better interpretation of fungal sequence data for species identification.https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00125-6Internal transcribed spacer (ITS)Targeted long-read sequencingNanopore technologyFungal identification
spellingShingle Nattapong Langsiri
Navaporn Worasilchai
Laszlo Irinyi
Piroon Jenjaroenpun
Thidathip Wongsurawat
Janet Jennifer Luangsa-ard
Wieland Meyer
Ariya Chindamporn
Targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long-read nanopore sequencing
IMA Fungus
Internal transcribed spacer (ITS)
Targeted long-read sequencing
Nanopore technology
Fungal identification
title Targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long-read nanopore sequencing
title_full Targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long-read nanopore sequencing
title_fullStr Targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long-read nanopore sequencing
title_full_unstemmed Targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long-read nanopore sequencing
title_short Targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long-read nanopore sequencing
title_sort targeted sequencing analysis pipeline for species identification of human pathogenic fungi using long read nanopore sequencing
topic Internal transcribed spacer (ITS)
Targeted long-read sequencing
Nanopore technology
Fungal identification
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s43008-023-00125-6
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