Application of high throughput sequencing in veterinary science

Abstract

High throughput sequencing (HTS) creates an opportunity for comprehensive genomic studies. It can be applied in veterinary science, bacteriology and virology, diagnostics of animal diseases, food safety, examinations of the composition of environmental samples, and even in veterinary vaccinology. Thus HTS a wide-ranging method that can be applied in different areas of the One Health approach. In particular, the whole genome sequencing (WGS) of bacteria is routinely used in food hygiene and outbreak investigations for phylogenetic analysis of pathogenic bacteria isolated from various sources across timeline, molecular characterisation of bacteria, plasmids, antibiotic resistance and identification of virulence factors. Metagenomics can be used to characterize the composition of microbiota in environmental samples. It makes it possible to obtain a taxonomic identification of bacteria, fungi or plants present in a metasample. It can also be used for the monitoring and epidemiological tracing of viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2. The transcriptomic approach makes it possible to study the expression of genes associated with various infections and diseases. HTS is a highly versatile method, but the selection of the proper application is crucial to obtain expected outcomes. The paper presents some HTS approaches and examples of research in veterinary science.