Webinar: A paradigm shift in HLA sequencing: from exons to high-resolution allele-level HLA yyping

Human MHC class I genes HLA-A, -B, -C, and class II genes HLA -DR, -DQ, and -DP play a critical role in the immune system as primary factors responsible for organ transplant rejection. Additionally, the HLA genes are important targets for clinical and drug sensitivity research because of their direct or linkage-based association with several diseases, including cancer, and autoimmune diseases. HLA genes are highly polymorphic, and their diversity originates from exonic combinations as well as recombination events. With full-length gene sequencing, a significant increase of new alleles in the HLA database is expected, stressing the need for high-resolution sequencing. PacBio has developed Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) Sequencing technology that delivers long reads (average read length >10 kb) capable of spanning the lengths of the majority of HLA class I and long amplicons of class II genes. In this webinar, we will demonstrate how SMRT Sequencing is a highly flexible and efficient tool for four field allele-level HLA genotyping without imputation. We will also review multiplexing approaches that enable high-throughput HLA amplicon sequencing on the PacBio platforms.