Updates and improvements to Solu. Feedback: [email protected]

New in Solu: Smarter QC, estimated MLST, and faster species identification

March 2026

Improved quality control with species-specific thresholds

We've expanded our quality control pipeline with new metrics including coverage, contamination detection, and genome completeness. These checks use species-specific thresholds from Qualibact, covering 300 species, so the criteria are tailored to the organism you're working with rather than relying on generic cutoffs. When issues are detected, Solu provides actionable suggestions, for example, flagging a possible mixed culture and recommending re-isolation before re-sequencing.

You can explore all of this in the new QC tab on the sample report page, where every metric is presented with clear explanations of what it means and why it matters.

Estimated MLST when no exact match is found

Sometimes a genome doesn't match any known sequence type exactly. Instead of showing no result, Solu now displays the closest matching ST based on the detected alleles. Results are shown with a confidence indicator: a higher confidence estimate when all genes have full coverage but the alleles are inexact, and a lower confidence estimate when one or more alleles have only partial coverage.

Species identification before assembly completes

Solu now estimates the species from your raw sequencing reads using Kraken2, running in parallel with the genome assembly. This means you get an early species call within minutes of uploading your data, without waiting for the full assembly to finish. The final species confirmation still happens post-assembly for maximum accuracy.

New in Solu: Cluster notes, sample search, and MLST update

January 2026

Add notes to clusters

You can now add notes directly to clusters. This is useful for documenting key findings, recording context about a possible transmission, or simply keeping your team aligned. Notes are visible to all workspace members.

Search the sample table

Finding specific samples just got easier. Use the new search field to quickly filter samples by name or MLST, without scrolling through a large table.