Genomic Analysis of Human Noroviruses Using Hybrid Illumina-Nanopore Data

Whole genome sequence (WGS) analysis of noroviruses is routinely performed by employing a metagenomic approach. While this methodology has several advantages, such as allowing for examination of co-infection, it has some limitations such as the requirement of high viral load to achieve full-length or near full-length genomic sequences. In this study, we used an amplification approach to obtain full-length genomic amplicons from 39 Canadian GII isolates followed by deep sequencing on Illumina and Oxford Nanopore platforms. This approach significantly reduced the required viral titre to obtain full-genome coverage. Herein, we compared the coverage and sequences obtained by both platforms and provided an in-depth genomic analysis of the obtained sequences, including the presence of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and recombination events.