New Sequencing Kits from Roche Accelerate Further Cancer-/SNP Research and Population Genetics

During the last few months, the Genome Sequencer 20™ system (GS 20) from Roche Applied Science, a business area of Roche Diagnostics, has made existing sequencing applications faster and more accessible and has opened the gate to many new applications throughout life sciences research.

The next wave of advancement in cancer-/SNP research, population genetics, and microbial genome sequencing will now be driven by the launch of new kits and software for the GS 20. The Paired End Adaptor Set and two new emPCR kits enable sequencing of amplicons in both directions extend the flexibility of the GS 20 system considerably.

• The Paired End Adaptor Set makes de novo sequencing of microbial genomes even more efficient. It facilitates the ordering of contigs into scaffolds and bridges gaps between contigs.
• The Amplicon Sequencing emPCRkits II and III and the associated Amplicon Variant Analyzer software suite enables researchers to identify sequence variations (point mutations, insertions and deletions) in mixed samples to a previously unattainable sequence depth. This allows the rapid identification of somatic cancer mutations that were previously not detectable. Research on population genetics will be accelerated because genetic variations on the population level can now be elucidated at unprecedented speed and sensitivity. Applying the new amplicon sequencing approach, researchers recently found that the microbial diversity of the deep sea was one to two orders of magnitudes more complex than previously determined.

Since its launch, the GS20 has set new standards for speed, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The Genome Sequencer 20 system is based on 454 Sequencing™ technology, developed by the US company, 454 Life Sciences, and can perform sequencing runs up to 60 times faster than conventional commercially available platforms. Whole genome libraries can be prepared in only one single preparation step, without extensive robots for colony picking and handling of the microtiter plates. One single instrument can produce tens of millions of bases of sequence data within a few hours, thanks to parallel-processing, the latest imaging techniques and unique data analysis. The substantial reductions in both time and costs offer the prospect of new applications for sequencing in the fields of whole genome sequencing, transcriptome and gene regulation studies, and amplicon analysis.