VBI launches genome sequencing services on the Roche GS-FLX
The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech has announced the official launch of its genome sequencing services for the Roche GS-FLX™. The launch coincides with the successful completion of pilot projects and the availability of approved service costs for shotgun genome sequencing on the Roche GS-FLX™.
The Roche GS-FLX is a next-generation genome sequencing system that takes advantage of 454 Life Sciences™ revolutionary sequencing technology and allows researchers to go from genome to sequence in record time. The sequence of a typical bacterial genome can be obtained in days with one person and one instrument without the need for cloning and colony picking.
Clive Evans, Core Laboratory Facility manager at VBI, commented: “We have now completed several pilot projects for whole genome sequencing since installation of the Roche GS-FLX™ sequencer earlier this year at VBI. The results have been impressive and well received by our collaborators. We are very pleased to announce the official launch of our first shotgun genome sequencing service on this state-of-the-art sequencing platform.”
Initial pilot projects included the sequencing of the genome of the T1 strain of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, a tomato pathogen found across the globe. The genome sequence of P. syringae has been completed to 20x coverage in collaboration with Boris Vinatzer in the Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, with the support of the Institute for Biomedical and Public Health Sciences at Virginia Tech.
The CLF has also achieved 60x coverage for the genomes of two different strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae. This sequencing effort is part of an ongoing collaboration with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ). High throughput sequence data have also been obtained for a cancer project in collaboration with Dr. Anindya Dutta from the Mellon Prostate Cancer Institute at the University of Virginia.
The Roche GS-FLX allows researchers to accurately sequence more than 100 megabases (million bases) per 7-hour run and achieve read lengths of 200 base pairs or greater. VBI has routinely sequenced over 120 megabases per run in the pilot projects. Further sequencing applications at VBI for the GS-FLX will be announced as part of the roll-out for Roche GS-FLX™ genome sequencing services.
Acquisition of the Roche GS-FLX was made possible through Virginia’s Commonwealth Research Initiative.
Detailed information on services and rates is available online.
For information on services and forthcoming applications, contact Rick Jensen, director, or Clive Evans, manager, Core Laboratory Facility, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, 231 5427, or e-mail, gsflx-sequencing@vbi.vt.edu.
