Streamlining DNA-Sequencing Research

Agilent Technologies, Inc chose the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) meeting to introduce the Agilent SureSelect Target Enrichment System, a unique tool for greatly streamlining DNA-sequencing research by enabling scientists to sequence only genomic areas of interest with next-generation sequencing instrumentation.

The Agilent SureSelect Target Enrichment System will initially be available for the Illumina Genome Analyser system. In addition, Agilent is in the process of optimising the platform for the Life Technologies SOLiD system.

Nick Roelofs, Ph.D, Agilent Vice President and General Manager, Life Science Solutions Unit, said: “Agilent’s new platform will significantly reduce sample complexity, allowing researchers to analyse a greater number of samples per study with fewer resources.”

SureSelect replaces other labor-intensive methods of targeted re-sequencing such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques that are a major bottleneck in most next-generation sequencing workflows.

Early access user Daniel Turner, Head of Sequencing Technology Development, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: “There are several important features of this technology that set it apart from its competitors: It is simple to perform and easily scalable to a 96-well format; it requires far less genomic DNA than on-array or PCR-based approaches; and it provides unparalleled specificity.”

The initial Agilent genome partitioning product is a ready-to-use kit containing a customer-specified mixture of up to 55,000 biotinylated RNA probes delivered in a single tube. SureSelect kits are packaged for a range of study sizes from tens to thousands of samples, and are well suited for automation in very high throughput workflows, unlike other commercially available products for this application.

Users can design their own custom SureSelect mixtures using the Agilent eArray online design tool, which contains many key genomes and also lets users upload their own sequences. eArray allows biologists to easily design the tools they need to do the science they want to do, without up-front design fees.

Kits come in a range of sizes for 10s to 1000s of samples.