In this PAG 2018 presentation, Bill Ballard of University of New South Wales, presents research into the origins and potential domestication of the Australian dingo, winner of the 2017 SMRT Grant Program. Ballard used PacBio long-read whole genome sequencing to sequence and assemble the dingo genome. Ongoing work focuses on identifying common and unique genomic regions with a domestic dog genome to better understand shared ancestry and ultimately to aid in dingo conservation efforts.
In this PAG 2018 presentation, Marty Badgett of PacBio, shares updates on PacBio products and performance. He highlights high-quality genome assembles for Arabidopsis, rice, and maize, the SMRTbell Express Template Prep Kit, SMRT Analysis updates, and the Iso-Seq method for RNA sequencing.
In this PAG 2018 presentation, Tanya Renner of Pennsylvania State University shares research using PacBio SMRT Sequencing to understand the genomes and transcriptomes of carnivorous plants. She describes the humped bladderwort, Utricularia gibba, as having an extreme genome due to its small size (100 Mbp) despite containing numerous tandem gene duplications and having undergone two whole genome duplications. Renner shares ongoing research into two Drosera species, commonly known as sundews, which through whole genome sequencing are illuminating carnivorous plant genome structural evolution including the transition from monocentric to holocentric chromosomes.
In this PAG 2018 presentation, John Williams of University of Adelaide, presents research on using PacBio SMRT Sequencing to explore the genetic origins of cattle subspecies, Angus (Bos taurus taurus) and Brahman (Bos taurus indicus). He shares RNA sequencing data using the PacBio Iso-Seq method to compare transcriptomes and phase allelic expression and describes how the IsoPhase technique enables evaluation of SNPs through transcriptome mapping back to the single genome of a cross-bred individual. Using a genomic and transcriptomic approach, two high-quality genomes from a single individual and gene isoforms specific to each subspecies are being identified.
In this ASHG 2017 presentation, Jonas Korlach, the CSO of PacBio shared updates on three applications featuring SMRT Sequencing on the Sequel System, highlighting structural variant detection, targeted sequencing and the Iso-Seq method of RNA sequencing. He provided details on structural variant calling using pbsv to call insertions and deletions and compared PacBio variant calling with other technologies. Korlach described how targeted sequencing can be used to interrogate repeat expansions, detect and phase minor variants and can access medically relevant but previously inaccessible gene targets. He presented research featuring the Iso-Seq method that identified isoforms, corrected previous isoform annotations and…
In this ASHG 2017 presentation, Han Brunner of Radboud University Medical Center presented research using SMRT Sequencing to detect structural variants to uncover the genetic causes of intellectual disability. He shared that long-read sequencing enabled detection of 25,000 structural variants per genome. Brunner presented data from patient trios to identify de novo structural variant candidates and ongoing validation work to determine the causative mutations of intellectual disability.
In this ASHG 2017 presentation, Charles Lee of The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine presented work from the Human Genome Structural Variation Consortium. He shared data from efforts to utilize multiple platforms for the comprehensive discovery of structural variations—including insertions, deletions, inversions and mobile element insertions—in individual genomes. By combining various technologies, this research identified 7 times more structural variation per person than was previously known to exist.
In this ASHG 2017 presentation, Karen McFarland of the University of Florida presented research on spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 (SCA10), a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by repeat expansions. She outlined efforts to sequence these repeat expansions including using CRISPR-Cas9 system coupled with SMRT Sequencing. McFarland shared findings from a study of a Parkinson’s disease patient and family that showed variations in expansion sequence can underlie distinct disease phenotypes.
In this AGBT 2017 talk, PacBio CSO Jonas Korlach provided a technology roadmap for the Sequel System, including plans the continue performance and throughput increases through early 2019. Per SMRT Cell throughput of the Sequel System is expected to double this year and again next year. Together with a new higher-capacity SMRT Cell expected to be released by the end of 2018, these improvements result in a ~30-fold increase or ~150 Gb / SMRT Cell allowing a real $1000 real de novo human genome assembly. Also discussed: Additional application protocol improvements, new chemistry and software updates, and a look at…
At AGBT 2017, the Broad Institute’s Daniel Neafsey reported a large collaborative effort to sequence the mosquito that carries Zika virus. The team is using long-read PacBio sequencing to produce a high-quality genome assembly, which Neafsey expects will replace the 10-year-old Sanger assembly for Aedes aegypti. The new assembly reduces the number of contigs by at least 10-fold, boosts the contig N50 to nearly 2 Mb, and features more complete gene content.
At AGBT 2017, Margaret Roy from Calico Life Sciences discussed a de novo genome sequencing effort for the naked mole rat. This animal has a remarkably long life span and resistance to cancer, both of which make it interesting for studies of life extension. The team is using SMRT Sequencing for a more complete, contiguous assembly than the two existing short-read-based assemblies. Included: data from the Sequel System.
In a talk at AGBT 2017, Histogenetics CEO Nezih Cereb reported on how SMRT Sequencing is allowing his team to produce full-length, phased sequences for HLA alleles, which are important for matching organ transplants to recipients. The company is typing thousands of samples per day on their PacBio RS II systems and their new Sequel System. Cereb noted that SMRT Sequencing is unique in its ability to reliably phase mutations in the HLA alleles without imputation. Cereb concluded with his plans to use this approach for other complex regions, such as KIR, and announced their continued increasing HLA typing capacity…
At AGBT 2017, Mike Schatz from Johns Hopkins University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory presented data from sequencing, assembling, and analyzing personalized, phased diploid genomes with either Illumina, 10x Genomics, and PacBio SMRT Sequencing. Compared to the short-read-based methods, PacBio data assembled in large, complete contigs and contained the broadest range of structural variants with the best resolution. Plus: unexpected translocation findings with SMRT Sequencing, validated in follow-up studies.
Richard Kuo from the Roslin Institute gave this PAG 2017 talk about using the PacBio Iso-Seq data to generate genome annotations that outperform current gold-standard annotations. Included: findings from a chicken study, the Iso-Seq pipeline, and why short reads are so problematic for understanding gene content.
In this PAG 2017 presentation, Ben Matthews describes a new genome assembly for Aedes aegypti, the mosquito responsible for spreading Zika virus, yellow fever, and other infectious diseases. By using PacBio long-read sequencing, scientists produced an assembly that is much more complete and contiguous than a previous assembly; 7,500 transcripts map to the new contigs but not to the old assembly. The genome is important for designing guide RNAs for CRISPR, understanding resistance to mosquito repellants, and much more.