UK genome centre breaks ground
15 Jul 2014
Genome mapping technology used to improve the DNA make-up of wheat and improve global food security.
The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) is one of the first research institutes in the UK to use the genome mapping Irys System technology, adding to its existing state-of-the-art Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) suite.
Other than be used to improve the genomic assembly of the British ash tree sample, the Irys System will be used for TGAC’s bread wheat genome sequencing project to improve the DNA make-up of this crop, TGAC said.
“Genome mapping is a powerful weapon in our arsenal
TGAC’s Matt Clark
It is hoped TGAC’s work on the wheat genome will help to accelerate breeding, and have a direct impact on increasing the crop and its yields, contributing to global food security.
The mapping technology is designed to make inaccessible genomes accessible, where long ’reads’ of DNA molecules can be uncoiled and confined for single-molecule imaging throughout the strain’s repetitive regions.
The Irys System is capable of preserving a sample’s information and allows researchers to directly observe the genome’s structural variants.
Matt Clark, plant and microbial genomics group leader at TGAC, said: “Genome mapping is a powerful weapon in our arsenal to turn short DNA sequences into true depictions of whole chromosome pieces of DNA as they actually exists in nature.
“Assemblies of this quality are more useful to researchers and breeders, and ultimately the public.”
A spokesperson for TGAC told Laboratorytalk.com that the new technology will also be used as part of the centre’s wider capability as a centre of excellence in genomics and computational biology.
