As industry heavyweights develop innovative technologies for longer reads of the human genome, RainDance Technologies and Pacific Biosciences are joining forces for a new project aimed at de novo whole-genome assembly.
Next-generation sequencing devices often read shorter sequences of DNA, which can provide an incomplete picture of complex diseases. RainDance and Pacific Biosciences will combine the former's digital droplet technology and single-molecule barcoding techniques with the latter's long-read sequencing system, potentially generating millions of long, single-molecule barcoded DNA fragments and offering de novo, haplotype-phased assembly of complicated genomes.
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| RainDance CEO Roopom Banerjee |
RainDance CEO Roopom Banerjee compared de novo genome assembly to putting together a book. If researchers want to assemble a genome from scratch, it's easier to put it together in chapters, or whole sequences, rather than focusing on individual sentences or words, or short sequences. And researchers using the companies' assembly method don't need a "cheat sheet," or reference genome, to put the pieces together, Banerjee told FierceDiagnostics.
"The exciting opportunity is, every genome that is getting sequenced can now be de novo assembled to get an entire picture of the structural genome," Banerjee said. "We can tie genetic diseases together and genomic profiles for the entire population. It will be useful not only for genome centers, translational labs and infectious disease labs, but for industrial companies and pharma companies involved in clinical trials."
RainDance and Pacific Biosciences are charging full speed ahead with their efforts, launching the postdevelopment phase of the project and pinpointing some of the first beachhead applications for the market, Banerjee said. The companies will most likely focus on complex diseases and infectious diseases at the beginning of their collaboration, he added.
And while RainDance is staying mum on its previously announced plans for a $60 million IPO, the company is counting on its partnership with Pacific Biosciences to generate some upward momentum.
"If you speak with genome centers and others, there's a high level of interest in this area and we're looking to be successful rapidly," he said. "Stay tuned. We have a fairly detailed set of activities between the two companies."
-- Emily Wasserman (email | Twitter)