A recent paper in the journal Cell presents novel findings of DNA methylation in C. elegans, an organism previously believed not to have such epigenetic marks. Scientists used several approaches to analyze the adenine N6-methylation (6mA) found in C. elegans, including SMRT® Sequencing to directly observe base modifications across the genome. From lead authors Eric Greer and Mario Blanco with senior author Yang Shi at Harvard Medical School, “DNA Methylation on N6-Adenine in C. elegans” describes a range of technological methods deployed to assess methylation across the worm’s genome. The team queried the nematode with specific antibodies for 6mA; immunofluorescence;…
After so many compelling customer projects for microbial genomes, it’s been rewarding to see more scientists turning to Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) Sequencing for larger genomes, such as plants and animals. Many PacBio users are performing de novo sequencing and assembly or upgrading draft genomes initially generated by short-read technologies. Extraordinarily long reads and throughput improvements have allowed scientists to affordably assemble and close genomes such as the Atlantic cod, spinach, and Orpinomyces, an anaerobic fungus found in the rumen of cows, to name a few. As reported by several customers at the 2014 Plant & Animal Genome conference in…
The Gallus gallus (common chicken) genome was initially published in 2004, but the latest RefSeq and Ensembl annotations remain incomplete. The chicken is an important model organism, especially for research on embryogenesis and heart development. In a new paper published in PLOS One, researchers representing the Cardiovascular Development Consortium of the Bench to Bassinet Program and Pacific Biosciences describe work to improve the chicken genome annotation using SMRT® DNA Sequencing. In “Long-Read Sequencing of Chicken Transcripts and Identification of New Transcript Isoforms,” the consortium describes how they used SMRT sequencing to generate full-length cDNA reads from embryonic chicken hearts, combined…