More Than 115 Presentations and Posters Feature PacBio SMRT Sequencing to Decipher Complex Plant and Animal Genomes at Annual PAG Conference

MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (Nasdaq:PACB) today announced that its Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT^®) Sequencing technology will be featured in at least 57 podium presentations and 60 posters at the International Plant & Animal Genome (PAG) XXV Conference  taking place January 14-18 in San Diego, California.  From specialty beverage crops like hops and cabernet sauvignon grapes
to economically and societally important livestock like cattle, goat, and pig, more than 60 new plant and animal genome assemblies generated with PacBio data will be presented at this year’s conference.

“Each year at PAG, we are delighted to see the increasing adoption of SMRT Sequencing and the number of new species benefiting from the highly accurate, uniform long-read data provided by our systems,” said Kevin Corcoran, Senior Vice President of Market Development for Pacific Biosciences. “This year we will see some of the first genome assemblies produced with the Sequel^TM System, as well as demonstrations of the growing interest in our Iso-Seq^TM method for genome annotation.”         

PacBio will host a workshop in the afternoon of January 16 with speakers from the company and prominent researchers from diverse fields. Topics will cover both conservation genomics and agrigenomics, as well as the fight against Zika and other mosquito vector-based diseases. Dr. Richard Kuo from the Roslin
Institute will present a chicken genome annotation, including Iso-Seq data from the Sequel System. Rod Wing from the Arizona Genomics Institute will present a new rice genome assembly generated entirely with Sequel data, as well as some early data for another strain using the recently released 2.0 chemistry. PacBio’s Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Jonas Korlach will report on the new chemistry and software updates.

PacBio is
seeing strong growth in agbio, and growing adoption in fields outside of agriculture, such as a number of new projects in conservation biology. Dr. Erich Jarvis, Professor at the Rockefeller University, co-founder of the B10K project and co-leader of the G10K initiative, recently purchased multiple Sequel Systems to support their goal of creating de novo assemblies for a large number of vertebrate species. He will be speaking about his research at the PacBio workshop. Rebecca Johnson,
Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute, will be giving a plenary lecture on genomics for wildlife conservation, which will include discussion of a new high-quality koala reference genome assembled de novo with SMRT Sequencing, which will be featured in-depth at the PacBio workshop.

Other PacBio activities include a SMRT Informatics Developers Conference on January 18, expert hours educational programming, and an exhibition booth (#418). In conjunction with PAG, PacBio is hosting its fourth annual SMRT Grant program. The most interesting genome or transcriptome proposal received by January 31 will receive free SMRT Sequencing on the Sequel System.

About Pacific Biosciences

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) offers sequencing systems to help scientists resolve genetically complex problems. Based on its novel Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT^®) technology, Pacific Biosciences’ products enable: de novo genome assembly to finish genomes in order to more fully identify, annotate and decipher genomic structures; full-length transcript
analysis to improve annotations in reference genomes, characterize alternatively spliced isoforms in important gene families, and find novel genes; targeted sequencing to more comprehensively characterize genetic variations; and real-time kinetic information for epigenome characterization. Pacific Biosciences’ technology provides high accuracy, ultra-long reads, uniform coverage, and is the only DNA sequencing technology that provides the ability to simultaneously detect epigenetic changes. PacBio^® sequencing systems, including consumables and software, provide a simple, fast, end-to-end workflow for SMRT Sequencing. More information is available at www.pacb.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release that are not historical are forward-looking statements, including, among other things, statements relating to future availability, market adoption, uses, quality or performance of, or benefits of using, products or technologies, and other future events. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond Pacific Biosciences’ control and could cause actual
results to differ materially from the information expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made in this press release. Factors that could materially affect actual results can be found in Pacific Biosciences’ most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Pacific Biosciences’ most recent reports on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q, and include those listed under the caption “Risk Factors.”

Pacific Biosciences undertakes no obligation to revise or update information in this press release to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available.

Contacts



Media:

Nicole Litchfield

415.793.6468

nicole@bioscribe.com



Investors:

Trevin Rard

650.521.8450

ir@pacificbiosciences.com

Source: Pacific Biosciences, Inc.

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