Status check: next-generation sequencing for infectious-disease diagnostics

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications for the diagnostics of infectious diseases has demonstrated great potential with three distinct approaches: whole-genome sequencing (WGS), targeted NGS (tNGS), and metagenomic NGS (mNGS, also known as clinical metagenomics). These approaches provide several advantages over traditional microbiologic methods, though challenges still exist.
Whole-genome sequencing In whole-genome sequencing (WGS), millions of fragments of microbial DNA are read in parallel. These overlapping reads are then bioinformatically assembled for complete reconstruction of the microbial genome, [...]