Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42209548›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Development of an Oxford nanopore sequencing technology-based whole genome sequencing method for Plasmodium falciparum to support malaria molecular surveillance.

Catherine Bakari, Aurel Holzschuh, Misago D Seth, Rashid A Madebe, Dativa Pereus, Celine I Mandara, Pierre Schneeberger, Jonathan J Juliano, Jeffrey A Bailey, Deus S Ishengoma and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Catherine BakariIfakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. catherinebakari.mvaa@swisstph.ch.
Aurel HolzschuhSwiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
Misago D SethNational Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Rashid A MadebeNational Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Dativa PereusIfakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Celine I MandaraNational Institute for Medical Research, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Pierre SchneebergerSwiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
Jonathan J JulianoInstitute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Jeffrey A BaileyDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Deus S IshengomaIfakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Christian NsanzabanaSwiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.

Funding

Gates Foundation, United States INV. 002202 & INV. 067322
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is critical for malaria molecular surveillance (MMS). While short-read platforms have been widely used for Plasmodium falciparum genomics; they have limitations in resolving repetitive regions and structural variation in this highly complex genome. Long-read technologies, such as those developed by Oxford nanopore technologies (ONT), offer complementary capabilities and may be particularly suitable for low-resource settings. We optimized an ONT-based WGS protocol for P. falciparum from DBS and whole blood samples. Laboratory strains (3D7, HB3, and Dd2) were mixed with whole blood to create mock infections and dried blood spots (DBS). DNA was extracted using Qiagen or Tween-Chelex 100, and parasite DNA was enriched using McrBC/MspJI digestion, NEBNext microbiome DNA enrichment Kit (NMDEK), and selective whole genome amplification (sWGA). Parasite and human DNA levels were quantified by multiplex qPCR. Sequencing was performed on ONT (R10.4.1 flow cell). The protocol was validated with? clinical samples from a therapeutic efficacy study. Tween-Chelex 100 had a higher DNA yield compared to Qiagen kit (2-4 Ct value difference), though Qiagen extractions gave longer reads (median 2791 vs. 2252 bp). NMDEK effectively depleted human DNA by increasing the Ct value of β-tubulin human gene by ~ 10 cycles, while sWGA increased parasite DNA. Combined enrichment yielded > 75% parasite DNA at 100 p/µl and > 90% genome coverage. WGS of mock and clinical samples achieved median read lengths > 2 kb, > 30× depth, and 99.8% accuracy. Whole blood outperformed DBS in depth and coverage. ONT WGS showed high concordance with Sanger sequencing and detected additional mutations and structural variants, including pfmdr1 and pfgch1 copy number variations. The optimized ONT-WGS protocol enabled accurate, high-coverage sequencing from whole blood and DBS. It provides a practical option for generating long-read data with relatively rapid turnaround and modest infrastructure requirements, supporting its application for MMS in malaria-endemic settings.

Indexed as

Genome, ProtozoanMalaria, FalciparumNanopore SequencingPlasmodium falciparumWhole Genome SequencingDNA, ProtozoanHumansDNA, Protozoan

Identifiers

PMID42209548
PMCPMC13451330

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.