Oct 19, 2022
Nanopore sequencing data analysis using Microsoft Azure cloud computing service
Peer-reviewed method
- 1PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA
External link: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278609
Protocol Citation: Linh Truong 2022. Nanopore sequencing data analysis using Microsoft Azure cloud computing service. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.x54v9dj7pg3e/v1
Manuscript citation:
Truong L, Ayora F, D’Orsogna L, Martinez P, Santis DD (2022) Nanopore sequencing data analysis using Microsoft Azure cloud computing service. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0278609. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278609
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: October 10, 2022
Last Modified: October 19, 2022
Protocol Integer ID: 71070
Funders Acknowledgement:
Microsoft Australia
Grant ID: Microsoft Partner of the year
Abstract
This protocol provides instruction to set up the analytic pipeline to process raw data from Oxford Nanopore Sequencing. This pipeline leverages the computing resources available in Microsoft Azure cloud server as well as hospital site at Fiona Stanley Hospital. The raw data in FAST5 format would be converted to FASTQ format, demultiplexed, renamed to appropriate sample ID and filtered based on pre-determined quality threshold. The QC plots would also be generated for ongoing monitoring purposes of sequencing output and quality. The entire data flow from the hospital premise to the cloud and vice versa is completely automated and secured.
Section 1: Generation of data on-site
Section 1: Generation of data on-site
Load the multiplexed HLA library pool consisting of 48 individuals onto a MinION flow cell. The data is acquired using MinKNOW software for 16 hours using default settings.
Equipment
MinION
NAME
Sequencer
TYPE
Oxford Nanopore Technologies
BRAND
MinION 1B / MinION 1C
SKU
16:00:00
16h
The raw FAST5 files are stored in a local folder on the MinION-connected PC.
Equipment
MinION-connected PC
NAME
Computer
TYPE
Dell
BRAND
N/A
SKU
Intel® Core™ i&-7700K CPU @ 4.20Ghz, 32 GB RAM, 64-bit operating system and GPU driver NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti
SPECIFICATIONS
An automation agent for Loome Integrate runs on the MinION-connected PC and checks for new FAST5 files every 30 minutes.
Software
Loome Integrate
NAME
BizData Pty Ltd
DEVELOPER
Section 2: Data migration to Microsoft Azure
Section 2: Data migration to Microsoft Azure
The input files are automatically uploaded by the Loome Integrate agent into a container in an Azure blob storage account, deployed within the PathWest Azure subscription. The files are uploaded using Transport Layer Security (TLS), and are encrypted at rest using 256-bit AES encryption.
Command
Command to upload data to Azure using the AzCopy command-line tool (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-use-azcopy-v10).
Section 3: Orchestration of analysis pipeline in Microsoft Azure
Section 3: Orchestration of analysis pipeline in Microsoft Azure
The Loome Integrate agent detects that the sequencing job has been completed when it finds a file named "final_summary_<GUID>.txt", and then triggers a new job to deploy the necessary resources and to start the processing steps using the Azure Batch service.
Software
Loome Integrate
NAME
BizData Pty Ltd
DEVELOPER
Loome communicates with the Azure Batch service and tells it to run the analysis using a Docker container that is automatically pulled by Azure Batch from a private Azure Container Registry in PathWest's Azure subscription.
Software
Azure Batch service
NAME
Microsoft
DEVELOPER
Section 4: Workflow in the cloud server
Section 4: Workflow in the cloud server
Azure Batch automatically deploys a GPU-enabled Virtual Machine (VM) for basecalling, de-multiplexing, quality trimming and QC overview using the following commands.
Command
Guppy basecaller
01:07:10 (representative runtime)
Command
Guppy barcoder
00:03:06 (representative runtime)
Command
Concatenate & rename file
00:00:30 (representative runtime)
Command
NanoFilt
00:05:39 (representative runtime)
1h 16m 25s
When each of the VMs was running, the input data is copied into their local disk for faster processing, run the analyses, and then copied the results back into blob storage so that the VMs could be deleted when processing had been completed. Loome Integrate, in coordination with Azure Batch, orchestrates these steps.
Command
Command to download data from Azure using the AzCopy command-line tool (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-use-azcopy-v10).
Command
AzCopy upload
Loome Integrate detects the completion of all tasks in the Azure Batch job and sends an email to notify that the analysis has been successfully completed or to report an error.
Software
Loome Integrate
NAME
BizData Pty Ltd
DEVELOPER
Section 5: Data migration from Microsoft Azure server
Section 5: Data migration from Microsoft Azure server
If the analysis has been successfully completed, the Loome Integrate agent downloads the results in FASTQ format into the MinION-connected PC.
Software
Loome Integrate
NAME
BizData Pty Ltd
DEVELOPER
Command
AzCopy download
Section 6: Final analysis of results
Section 6: Final analysis of results
The demultiplexed FASTQ file is analysed by a commercial HLA allele assignment software, GenDX NGSengine.
Software
NGSengine
NAME
GenDX
DEVELOPER
The HLA alleles are curated by laboratory staff for accuracy and suitability to reporting.