Real-time selective sequencing using nanopores and deep learning

Abstract Nanopore sequencing is an emerging technology that utilizes a unique method of reading nucleic acid sequences and, at the same time, it detects various chemical modifications. Deep learning has increased in popularity as a useful technique to solve many complex computational tasks. Selective sequencing has been widely used in genomic research; although it introduces several caveats to the process of sequencing, its advantages supersede them. In this study we demonstrate an alternative method of software-based selective sequencing that is performed in real time by combining nanopore sequencing and deep learning. Our results show the feasibility of using deep learning for classifying signals from only the first 200 nucleotides in a raw nanopore sequencing signal format. Using custom deep learning models and a script utilizing "Read-Until" framework to target mitochondrial molecules in real time from a human cell line sample, we achieved a significant separation and enrichment ability of more than 2-fold. In a series of very short sequencing runs (10, 30, and 120 minutes), we identified genomic and mitochondrial reads with accuracy above 90%, although mitochondrial DNA comprises only 0.1% of the total input material. We believe that our results will lay the foundation for rapid and selective sequencing using nanopore technology and will pave the way for future clinical applications using nanopore sequencing data.