News
WUR strengthens leading position on long read sequencing technology with PacBio Sequel IIe
With the PacBio Sequel IIe, Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is ready for the future when it comes to Next Generation Sequencing. At the location of WUR Bioscience on Wageningen Campus the newest technology in the field of high quality long read sequencing is available for research. Organisations outside WUR can also use the advanced equipment.
Next generation sequencing (NGS) is the collective name for a group of amazingly fast and relative inexpensive techniques for reading DNA codes from living and dead organisms. With the knowledge obtained via DNA sequencing, better species selection in for example plant and animal breeding can be obtained. Furthermore this can enhance our knowledge and insight in processes like growth and resistance at different environmental conditions. Research in the field of genomics very well fits with the mission of WUR ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’.
State-of-the-art facility
Sequel IIe is PacBio’s latest platform for high throughput single molecule sequencing. It is part of the NGS facility used by WUR Bioscience on Wageningen Campus and complements Illumina’s short read sequencing technology and BioNano Genomics’ genome mapping platform.
The Sequel IIe facilitates long read sequencing with extremely high sequence quality (known as HiFi sequencing) and this distinguishes PacBio’s platform from all other long-read sequencing technologies currently available. These HiFi reads have proved invaluable for all manner of downstream applications, including de-novo genome assembly, SNP discovery, structural variation detection and haplotype phasing.
Sharing facilities
The acquisition of the PacBio Sequel IIe is the result of a partnership for sharing facilities between WUR’s Shared Research Facilities, Wageningen Plant Research’s Bioscience business unit, BaseClear and KeyGene.
Thanks to Shared Research Facilities’ investment, this advanced device will also be available to organisations and companies outside the partnership and so helps to meet the ambition to make advanced equipment and facilities available for shared use in the Foodvalley innovation ecosystem. To make this possible, Shared Research Facilities is working closely with Foodvalley NL in the joint initiative Shared facility finder.
More information
Would you like to know more about the PacBio Sequel IIe and the possibilities for use? Please contact Elio Schijlen, Wageningen Plant Research, BU Bioscience.
Would you like more information on the possibilities of purchasing, using or sharing equipment and facilities? Please contact Shared Research Facilities.