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Host-Exclusive Primer Design Enables Effective Metabarcoding via Nanopore Long-Read Sequencing

He, T.; Jansonius, K.; Li, X.; Reilly, A. M.; Sevgin, B.; Setroikromo, R.; Hackl, T.; Haslinger, K.

2025-07-28 molecular biology
10.1101/2024.11.25.625223 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Metabarcoding is a powerful tool to simultaneously identify multiple taxa within a habitat. However, its application to host-associated microbiomes is challenged by substantial co-amplification of host DNA. Here we developed a host-exclusive primer design workflow, to selectively generate amplicons from target taxa while excluding the host. This workflow is centered around a new computational tool, mbc-prime, that can generate a list of discriminative candidate primers and score them. We showcase the use of this tool in the design of primers for long-read metabarcoding of endophytic fungi in Vinca minor. Mbc-prime streamlines the design of fungus-specific primers, enabling efficient and plant-free amplification of fungal rDNA from mixed DNA samples. Our workflow can be used to study the composition of complex host-associated microbiomes. It should be universally applicable for the design of discriminative primers in a user-friendly and practical manner and thus be of use for various researchers in microbiome research.

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