Whole genome sequencing of Plasmodium falciparum from dried blood spots using selective whole genome amplification

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. 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). Here, we evaluate the use of selective whole genome amplification (sWGA) to sequence the P. falciparum genome from clinical DBS samples, and compare the results to current methods using leucodepleted VB. Parasite DNA with high (> 95%) human DNA contamination was selectively amplified by Phi29 polymer