Bacterial genome detectives: New EU project for Next Generation Sequencing based pathogen diagnostics and genotyping
Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) has fundamentally altered genomic research. The rapid development of this technology is intended to enhance performance and bring down DNA sequencing costs, thus widening the spectrum of possible applications. The high potential for ultra fast and accurate molecular typing and diagnostics NGS promises, will now be used in the medical diagnosis of pathogens. In this context, the EU research project Patho-NGen-Trace was launched on 1. January 2012. It will run for 54 months and receive nearly 6 million Euro in funding from the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme. An international consortium of leading experts in the field of clinical microbiology, such as the ‘Westfälische Wilhelms-University’ Muenster, the University of Oxford and the Research Center Borstel (scientific project coordinator), will work together in the project with well known enterprises in this area - Applied Maths NV, Genoscreen SAS, Piext BV (representing OpGen,Inc US) and Ridom GmbH. Chasing those germs The project participants want to develop Next Generation Sequencing combined with Whole Genome Mapping as next generation DNA analysis tools into a highly efficient technology that can be used for the typing and diagnostics of pathogens. Three pathogens in particular will serve as models – Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Campylobacter species. All three pathogens can be found worldwide, posing a serious medical threat and an important challenge when it comes to their treatment. One third of the world’s population is currently infected with tuberculosis (TB), with new infections occurring at a rate of about one per second. Although it remains latent in most cases, over nine million cases of active TB were counted in 2009, with about 1.7 million cases ending fatally. MRSA is the major cause of hospital-acquired infections, often affecting surgical intensive care units, burn centres, and newborn wards. Finally, the pathogens of the Campylobacter group belong to the kind of germs that can be transmitted from animals to humans. In Europe they are one of the main causes of bacterial intestinal infections, rising above the number of salmonella infections for the first time in 2005. Stefan Niemann, Head of the Molecular Mycobacteriology Group at the Research Center Borstel, describes the impact of the project: “Patho-NGen-Trace is developing the technology that will enable us to identify pathogens and their mutations much faster and with more precision. It will also help us detect drug-resistant strains even better.” In the long run the consortium not only hopes to control and predict, but also contain the spread of the three pathogens. Participants: • Research Center Borstel, Leibniz-Zentrum für Medizin und Biowissenschaften, Germany (PD Dr. Stefan Niemann) • Genoscreen SAS, France (Dr. Stéphanie Ferreira) • Applied Maths NV, Belgium (Dr. Bruno Pot) • Ridom GmbH, Germany (Jörg Rothgänger) • Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany (Prof. Dr. Dag Harmsen) • Piext BV, The Netherlands (Ronald Burggrave) • University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, United Kingdom (Prof. Dr. Martin Maiden) • European Research and Project Office GmbH, Saarbrücken, Germany (Claudia Giehl) More information at www.patho-ngen-trace.eu Coordinator: Forschungszentrum Borstel Leibniz-Zentrum für Medizin und Biowissenschaften PD Dr. Stefan Niemann
Pays
Belgium, Germany, France, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom