NanoVar: accurate characterization of patients’ genomic structural variants using low-depth nanopore sequencing

Abstract

Abstract The recent advent of third-generation sequencing technologies brings promise for better characterization of genomic structural variants by virtue of having longer reads. However, long-read applications are still constrained by their high sequencing error rates and low sequencing throughput. Here, we present NanoVar, an optimized structural variant caller utilizing low-depth (8X) whole-genome sequencing data generated by Oxford Nanopore Technologies. NanoVar exhibits higher structural variant calling accuracy when benchmarked against current tools using low-depth simulated datasets. In patient samples, we successfully validate structural variants characterized by NanoVar and uncover normal alternative sequences or alleles which are present in healthy individuals.

Keywords

• Structural variants
• SV characterization
• Long reads
• Oxford Nanopore sequencing
• Third-generation sequencing
• WGS