Blog
January 13, 2020
Direct Phased Genome Assembly Using Nighthawk on HiFi Reads
By Zev Kronenberg, Senior Engineer of Bioinformatics at PacBio Since the introduction of HiFi reads the community has embraced these long and highly accurate reads for human genome assembly…
January 8, 2020
SMRT Grant Winner: Hunting for Answers in Spinocerebellar Ataxia
A hearty congratulations to Cleo van Diemen at the University Medical Center Groningen for winning the 2019 Neuroscience SMRT Grant! Van Diemen’s impressive proposal involves using PacBio long-read sequencing to…
January 3, 2020
Novel Workflow Produces Fully Phased Human Genome Assemblies Without Trio Sequencing
A new preprint from lead authors David Porubsky and Peter Ebert, senior authors Evan Eichler and Tobias Marschall (@tobiasmarschal), and collaborators reports a method for generating fully phased, de novo…
December 27, 2019
SMRT Sequencing Highlights – Top Publications of 2019
With the release of the award-winning Sequel II System, 2019 was an exciting year for the SMRT Sequencing community. We were inspired by our users’ significant contributions to science across…
December 23, 2019
Iso-Seq Analysis Sheds Light on Splicing Associated with Schizophrenia
Neurexin genes, which have been associated with certain neuropsychiatric disorders, are known to make heavy use of alternative splicing. In a recent study, scientists used the Iso-Seq method with SMRT…
December 19, 2019
Release of Six New Reference-Quality Genomes Reveals Superpowers of Bats
Bat lovers and animal researchers have been waiting for insights into the evolution and remarkable genetic adaptations of our winged mammalian friends, ever since the global Bat1K initiative announced its…
December 17, 2019
SMRT Sequencing Enables Discovery of Epigenetic Driver of C. diff Persistence
How do pernicious pathogens like Clostridioides difficile spread through hospitals and persist so tenaciously in the human gut, leading to about half a million infections and 30,000 deaths each year? …
December 11, 2019
Long-Read Sequencing Could Improve the Sensitivity and Precision of 16S Studies Says Jackson Lab Study
It’s time to revisit the way scientists are using 16S rRNA gene sequencing to study microorganisms, according to a team of Jackson Laboratory researchers. Popular targets for taxonomy and phylogeny…
December 5, 2019
Two Review Articles Assess Structural Variation in Human Genomes
Two recent review articles discuss the idea that structural variants (SVs) — genetic differences that involve at least 50 base pairs — are numerous, important to human biology, and best…
December 3, 2019
Award-Winning Sequel II System Sets a New Standard for Long-Read Sequencing
UPDATE: We’re proud to have released the next evolution of the Sequel System: The Sequel IIe. Launched in October 2020, the new system features advanced on-instrument data processing and cloud…
November 21, 2019
Users Report on SMRT Sequencing: Sequel II System, HiFi Reads, Iso-Seq Analysis, Microbiomes, and More
We’d like to extend a sincere thanks to everyone who attended our two-day North America User Group Meeting, held this year at our Certified Service Provider, the University of Delaware…
November 20, 2019
SMRT Sequencing to Help Reveal Secrets of the Soil in Understudied South-East Asian Rainforests
The most important creatures in a tropical rainforest aren’t necessarily the ones you can see. They work their magic underground, recycling organic matter and processing and transporting vital nutrients for…
November 14, 2019
Webinar Summary: Need accurate isoform-level characterization? Iso-Seq is the answer
Traditional RNA-Seq is done by fragmenting cDNA, and then sequencing the fragmented reads with paired-end sequencing. The problem comes when trying to identify the full-length isoform during assembly. This is…
November 12, 2019
At ASHG Workshop, Customers Describe Long-Read Sequencing of Human Genomes for Disease Gene Discovery and Population Studies
We were delighted to host an educational workshop at last month’s annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), where we had the opportunity to feature talks from…
November 11, 2019
Mapping the NLRome: Research Teams Turn to SMRT Sequencing to Trace Plant Immunity
There’s the genome, the transcriptome, the microbiome… and now the NLRome? Breeders and pathologists have long been interested in uncovering the secrets of plant immunity, and much of their attention…