The EU funded PATHSEEK consortium, made up of four partners, is working towards a concept of sequencing whole pathogen genomes, e.g. HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, directly from clinical samples. By enriching pathogen genomes directly from clinical samples, quality of sequence is improved so that it can be used to identify outbreaks and resistance. The method can be carried out in a single tube allowing the process to be automated and the sensitivity of the method identifies resistance occurring even at low level.
Our role in PATHSEEK has been to develop the project’s bioinformatics software – a flexible and user-friendly software platform for the analysis of sequencing data by clinical researchers*. We’ve developed the software to be accessible to users having varying degrees of expertise within bioinformatics – such as clinicians, clinical scientists, and bioinformaticians.
Recently, the coordinator of the project, Professor Judith Breuer, presented results from the research and the progress of the project aiming to develop a next-generation sequencing platform for use in diagnostic microbiology.
Read the full publication: An exciting and ambitious path to progress