Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (Nasdaq:PACB), today
announced the Genome 10K (G10K) and Bird 10,000 Genomes (B10K)
initiatives have invested in SMRT® Sequencing to be included as one
of the technologies for the next phase of their vertebrate genome
assembly programs. Prominent neurobiologist Erich Jarvis, one of
the co-founders of the B10K project and a co-leader of the G10K
initiative, has ordered two Sequel™ Systems, with plans for three
additional units in conjunction with his new position at The
Rockefeller University, and in a planned collaboration with the New
York Genome Center.
Several other global leaders of the G10K and B10K
consortia will also contribute use of their recently acquired
PacBio® Sequel Systems toward their goal of creating de novo
assembled vertebrate genomes, including Harris Lewin at UC Davis in
the USA, Richard Durbin at the Sanger Institute in the UK, Gene
Myers at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology &
Genetics in Germany, and Guojie Zhang with affiliations at BGI in
China and Denmark.
The G10K project was established in 2009 by a
consortium of biologists and genome scientists, including Dr.
Jarvis, Steve O’Brien of the Dobzhansky Center for Genome
Bioinformatics, David Haussler and Beth Shapiro of the UC Santa
Cruz Genome Institute, and Oliver Ryder of UC San Diego. Together
they determined to sequence the genomes of 10,000 vertebrate
species by 2020. The B10K project, launched in 2015 and co-led by
Dr. Jarvis along with Dr. Zhang of BGI and Thomas Gilbert of the
University of Copenhagen, is an initiative to generate
representative draft genome sequences for all 10,500 bird species,
also within the next five years.
In the first phase of the projects, the two groups
collaborated. One outcome was the Avian Phylogenomics Project,
which involved more than 200 scientists and sequenced the genomes
of more than 45 new bird species. That project has resulted in more
than 50 publications since December 2014, including eight in a
special issue of Science magazine, which was considered a major
advance in comparative genomics.
At that time, the consortia were using short-read
technologies, but have since discovered that they will be able to
make even further scientific advances with longer-read technology.
Thus, the G10K and the B10K initiatives will include the Sequel
Systems for the next phases of these projects. They intend to
sequence the genomes for several thousand vertebrate species with
PacBio technology for diploid-resolved, high-quality de novo genome
assemblies, and perform subsequent chromosome-level scaffolding
with complementary approaches, including BioNano Genomics’ optical
genome mapping, Dovetail’s proximity in vitro genome mapping, and
Phase Genomics Hi-C mapping.
Dr. Jarvis, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical
Institute investigator, is well known for his work studying the
neurobiology of vocal learning, mainly in songbirds, but also in
other species, including humans. He uses vocal-learning bird
species to explore what they can teach us about spoken language in
humans.
PacBio sequencing technology will allow Dr. Jarvis
to create more high-quality reference genome assemblies. For
example, in his hummingbird (a vocal learner) sequencing project,
PacBio sequencing provided a large increase in the number of
complete genes and reduced the number of contigs from 124,000 using
short-read sequencing to 1,000 using long-read SMRT Sequencing. For
the zebra finch, a vocal learning songbird, SMRT Sequencing fully
resolved gaps in the Sanger reference and detected errors in the
previous reference genome. When combined with the scaffolding
approaches, Dr. Jarvis’ team is getting chromosome-level genome
assemblies that are helping to better understand the genetics of
vocal learning.
Jonas Korlach, Chief Scientific Officer of Pacific
Biosciences, commented: “We are delighted to support this new era
of improved genome assemblies for the world’s diverse species, and
look forward to working with Dr. Jarvis and the other members of
the G10K and B10K projects to support their efforts to create
high-quality reference genomes.”
About Pacific Biosciences
Pacific Biosciences of California,
Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) offers sequencing systems to help
scientists resolve genetically complex problems. Based on its novel
Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) technology, Pacific Biosciences’
products enable: de novo genome assembly to finish genomes in order
to more fully identify, annotate and decipher genomic structures;
full-length transcript analysis to improve annotations in reference
genomes, characterize alternatively spliced isoforms in important
gene families, and find novel genes; targeted sequencing to more
comprehensively characterize genetic variations; and real-time
kinetic information for epigenome characterization. Pacific
Biosciences’ technology provides high accuracy, ultra-long reads,
uniform coverage, and is the only DNA sequencing technology that
provides the ability to simultaneously detect epigenetic changes.
PacBio® sequencing systems, including consumables and software,
provide a simple, fast, end-to-end workflow for SMRT Sequencing.
More information is available at www.pacb.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that are not
historical are forward-looking statements, including, among other
things, statements relating to product orders, future uses, quality
or performance of, or benefits of using, products or technologies,
expected benefits from the G10K and the B10K initiatives, and other
future events. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances and other factors
that are, in some cases, beyond Pacific Biosciences’ control and
could cause actual results to differ materially from the
information expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made
in this press release. Factors that could materially affect actual
results can be found in Pacific Biosciences’ most recent filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Pacific
Biosciences’ most recent reports on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q, and
include those listed under the caption “Risk Factors.”
Pacific Biosciences undertakes no obligation to
revise or update information in this press release to reflect
events or circumstances in the future, even if new information
becomes available.
Contacts
Media: Nicole
Litchfield415.793.6468nicole@bioscribe.com
Investors:Trevin
Rard650.521.8450ir@pacificbiosciences.com
Associated twitter handles and
hashtags@Pacbio@Genome10K@B10K_Project@erichdjarvis@RockefellerUniv@HHMINews
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