Two readers for RNA

Project Summary Nanopore-based technology has the potential to be the future of comprehensive RNA sequencing, i.e., transcriptomics and epitranscriptomics, as it is the only viable path to directly characterizing and profiling long RNA strands without reverse transcription or processive enzymes that fail to traverse certain sequences. The direct characterization enabled by nanopore sequencing will also ultimately lead to detection and characterization of modified bases, a critical requirement for epitranscriptomics. The presently available, state- of-the art RNA sequencing technologies are limited by the method, with the input requiring cDNA intermediates and/or large amounts of costly sample, and the readout featuring a compromise between short read length and low-accuracy. During this program, Electronic BioSciences (EBS) aims to develop a completely new long-read, extremely high-accuracy nanopore-based sequencing technology that will enable de novo epitranscriptomic sequencing, capable of inherent sequence cross-validation and expanded sensitivity for more accurate and versatile RNA sequencing. During this Phase I project, we will build and multiplex an entirely new system, fully assess and optimize the associated workflow/methodology to sequence canonical nucleotides and specific clinically relevant RNA modifications, and demonstrate initial sequencing. At the conclusion of this project, we will have successfully demonstrated and developed an entirely new sequencing system prototype that overcomes the known challenges limiting current RNA sequencing technologies (including other nanopore- based sequencing approaches). The resulting technology development will be a label-free, long-read (rtkbases), electronic readout method, capable of providing a new and detailed understanding of RNA and its regulation.