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Technical Assessment: Data Interpretation
What are the data interpretation challenges and
how will BioWatch address these challenges?
• Want to detect both knowns and unknowns
– What “distance” from knowns?
– Desire to characterize functional potential
• Incomplete databases with biased and incorrect entries
• Biological diversity challenges
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False Negatives
False Positives
Horizontal gene transfer
(misclassification)
Horizontal gene transfer
(misclassification)
Evolution and diversifying
selection
Similar species
Different species (and host
material) with some shared
genomic sequences
Technical Assessment: The Path Forward
Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC): Metagenomics assessment of
jurisdictional background
• Conducting in-depth analysis of one jurisdiction
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Conducting sequencing of jurisdictional filters
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
• Initial Assessment: What would be needed to incorporate sequencing into the
BioWatch Program?
• Studies
– Characterize the environmental background found in BioWatch jurisdictions
– Develop/confirm laboratory protocols and processes needed to support sequencing
– Inform the Program about platform options (pros and cons)
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Overall Study
Goals
• Bioinformatics for complex samples to best characterize
metagenomic ‘background’
• Examining potential “dual use” with additional clinical
applicability
• Exploring potential bio-informatics capability to enable
straightforward analysis in an operational laboratory
Sequencing
webinar:
Spring 2017