falciparum genome sequence data from DBS samples. The sWGA methods described here provide a reliable and scalable way of generating P. Over 99% SNP concordance between VB and DBS samples was achieved after excluding missing calls. The parasitaemia threshold to achieve >5× coverage for 50% of the genome was 0.03% (40 parasites per 200 white blood cells). falciparum DNA was achieved from DBS extracts. Using sWGA method, clinical samples from 156 malaria patients, including 120 paired samples for head-to-head comparison of DBS and leucodepleted VB were sequenced.

falciparum DNA) and contaminating (human) genomes. These primers were selected on the basis of their differential frequency of binding the desired ( P. Parasite DNA with high (>95%) human DNA contamination was selectively amplified by Phi29 polymerase using short oligonucleotide probes of 8–12 mers as primers. falciparum genome from clinical DBS samples was evaluated, and the results compared with current methods that use leucodepleted VB. Here, the use of selective whole genome amplification (sWGA) to sequence the P. Sampling by dried blood spot (DBS) finger-pricks can be performed safely and efficiently with minimal resource and storage requirements compared with venous blood (VB).

Translating genomic technologies into healthcare applications for the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has been limited by the technical and logistical difficulties of obtaining high quality clinical samples from the field.

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