Existing Challenges and the Need for Authenticated Reference Genomes

Abstract While recent technological advancements have enabled the generation of vast amounts of whole-genome sequencing data, publicly available reference genomes often lack quality, completeness, authenticity, accuracy, and traceability. The reliability of these data is further called into question as they may have been generated using untraceable cultures and older methodologies. In the following study, we surveyed the status of ATCC bacterial genome sequences in public databases and described the implementation of a genome sequencing workflow designed to provide reference-quality whole-genome sequences that are derived from authenticated ATCC materials.