454 Sequencing Boosts Genomics Research in Spain: Genome Sequencer FLX System Installed at University of Barcelona

454 Sequencing is now boosting genomics research at the University of Barcelona (UB). UB has recently acquired a Genome Sequencer FLX System that will be installed at the Genomics Unit of the Scientific and Technical Services (SCT). This service unit currently supports more than 110 research groups which are using the lab’s equipment and technical knowledge.

The applications of the Genome Sequencer FLX System in Barcelona will be many-fold, extending from the identification of strategies for improving aquaculture production by biotech tools to studies about the vulnerability of benthonic populations using molecular tools. Other research projects will include post-genomic analyses of the homeostasis and regeneration of complex multicellular organisms as well as studies focused on multigenic approaches to identify the molecular mechanisms that control the embryogenic processes of bilateral organisms.

Furthermore, the Genome Sequencer FLX System will be used in research studies aimed at the characterization of DNA alterations related to the pathogenic mechanisms involved in high impact diseases such as hepatic and digestive diseases, lymphoid neoplasia, or osteoporosis, among others. The main objective of such projects is to contribute to the future development of useful diagnostic tools with potential application in clinical practice.

With the new Genome Sequencer FLX System the SCT-UB will be able to give support to research projects in a way not available till now. “The challenge of being able to actively collaborate with scientists in so many different research projects, and the fact of getting ready to develop so many diverse technological approaches, gives us the opportunity to be recognized as a reference centre on Genomics research in Spain,” states Carmen López-Iglesias, Head of the Genomics Unit of the SCT-UB.

The Scientific and Technical Services of the University of Barcelona offers its services to researchers of the University of Barcelona as well as researchers from other institutions and companies. The centre has been granted full certification to ISO 9001:2000. It is an acknowledged laboratory in the register of Agro-Food Laboratories of Catalonia and belongs to European research and technological reference networks such as the IT Network promoted by the Centre for Innovation and Business Development of the Catalan Government. For more information about the state of implementation of this new high-throughput sequencer, please do not hesitate to contact the Unit of Genomics at the SCT-UB (sequen@sct.ub.es) or the general e-mail address of the Scientific and Technical Services of the University of Barcelona.