Rapid prenatal CNV detection using nanopore technology

Abstract

Rapid identification of copy-number variations (CNVs) is crucial in prenatal diagnosis; however, current chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) has a lengthy turnaround time. We evaluated the feasibility of low-pass nanopore sequencing for genome-wide CNV detection using amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood from 22 samples. Combining the enzymatic reaction step with nanopore sequencing or the nCNV-seq technique achieved complete concordance with CMA across all abnormal and normal cases, accurately detecting CNVs as small as 0.7 Mb. The workflow generated > 1 million reads per sample, providing sufficient coverage (< 1×) for reliable CNV profiling. These findings demonstrate that nanopore sequencing can serve as an alternative to CMA for rapid testing, potentially lower investment costs, and faster turnaround times.