It wasn’t so many years ago that the first human genome was sequenced. But in terms of developments in biotech it feels like a lifetime. Dozens of scientists worked tirelessly for 10 years to unravel the 20,000 genes of the human genome – and now next generation sequencing can do this at a fraction of the time and cost. But what practical applications could these new methods have?
With help from our colleagues at the Food and Environment Research Agency, scientists at the US Food and Drug Administration have successfully applied genetic sequencing in a novel way to identify the source of a previously unsolved salmonella outbreak.
In this particular case, conventional pulse field gel electrophoresis wasn’t able to distinguish between different types of Salmonella Montevideo that had been isolated from the individuals who had become ill and from food sources. But the increased sensitivity of next-generation sequencing identified a strong genetic similarity between isolates found in a spice rub with that of the clinical isolates, which indicated that the outbreak had been caused by spice rubs used to make Italian-style spiced meats.
The success of applying this kind of forensic approach to a previously unsolved outbreak suggests that these methods could be useful for future investigations. But with these constantly developing technologies needing specialist skills and resources, do these new techniques have a future in everyday lab investigations?