Epigenetics is the study of heritable phenotypic changes in organisms caused by alteration in gene expression rather than change in original DNA sequence. Epigenetics can occur both in microbial and eukaryotic organisms. Because of epigenetic modification, certain genes are turned on or off. One of the common epigenetic modification is called methylation in which small group of molecules called methyl group are attached to a section of a DNA. This will silence a particular gene and no protein is produced. Detection of epigenetics changes helps to understand its effects on various biological processes, such as DNA damage and repair, host-pathogen interactions, gene expression, and environmental response. This also helps to understand how the epigenetic changes are transmitted from one generation to the next. The single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technique (Pacific Bioscience) is an ideal method to identify epigenetic modifications as it detects those changes by measuring the kinetic variation during base incorporation. Since this method captures the epigenetic changes and DNA sequences simultaneously, there is no need of special sample preparation. No special library preparation translates into affordable sequencing for you. Contact us to find out more about our low cost epigenetic sequencing options.

Microsatellites, also known as simple sequence repeats (SSRs) or short tandem repeats (STRs), are short sections of DNA that have a repeated sequence of one to six base pairs. They are co-dominant and highly polymorphic markers, thus are the markers of choice in population genetics and forensic analyses. Despite their potential to address several issues of evolution, molecular ecology, forensic, and conservation, their use has been limited due to the high cost and time required for de novo development and genotyping. Recently, next generation sequencing (NGS) has been used to develop SSR markers resulting in considerable reduction in the cost and time required for the work. Because of the read length limitations of sequencing in other NGS platforms, genotyping of microsatellite loci of greater than 600bp is not feasible. However, the Single Molecule Real-time (SMRT) sequencing technique (Pacific Bioscience) has helped to overcome this problem. The SMRT sequencing technique is not only suitable to score the microsatellite genotypes but also useful to de novo development of microsatellite markers in those species for which sequence data are limited. Contact us to discover how PacBio's SMRT sequencing can help unlock your microsatellite research projects.

Microbial communities are a group of microbes that live in a similar environment. Study about microbial community is important to understand the interaction between the microorganisms and the environment where they exist. Identification of the microbes is the first requirement to conduct such studies. In contrast to the conventional methods of species identification, assignment of microbial species based of DNA sequences has become popular due to higher precision, and low cost and time requirement.  The advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has further reduced the cost and time for such studies. Within NGS technologies, the Single Molecule Real-time (SMRT) sequencing method performed in Sequel (Pacific Biosciences) has provided opportunity to sequence longer genes or whole genome with increased precision of species identification. From longer eukaryote assays to full length 16s rRNA sequencing,  contact us to find out more about our competitive prices and quick turn-around times for your next microbial sequencing project.

Targeted sequencing allows to capture a group of known genes or a specific region/s of genome and sequence them. This technique allows researchers to focus on specific regions of interest which avoids mining of those variants from a large data set. Since the objective is achieved with small data set, targeted sequencing will help to reduce the cost and the turnover time. Using the single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technique (Pacific Bioscience), it is possible to sequence the targeted regions of up to 20kbp long with high accuracy. Contact us for more information on pricing and assay set-up for your desired target.

RNA-seq is one of the next generation sequencing (NGS) methods used in gene expression studies. This method is also called whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing. Using this method, scientist can determine presence/absence, and quantity of specific genes in a biological sample at a given time. Based on the research objectives and requirements, RNA-seq can facilitate investigation of different kinds of RNA, such as total RNA (tRNA), ribosomal RNA (rRNA), small RNA (miRNA), messenger RNA (mRNA). The single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technique (Pacific Bioscience) enables scientist to sequence complete RNA fragments, which eliminates the requirement of sequence assembly. Because the sequence assembly is not required, the accuracy of the sequence data is high, and at the same time it reduces the time and cost of sequencing and data handling. Contact us for more information on RNAseq.

Genetic change or alteration in DNA sequence that occurs only in somatic cells is called somatic variation. Somatic variations are transferred to the cells that are originated from the muted cells. Unlike in germ line cells, mutations in somatic cells are not inherited from one generation to the next. Somatic variations mainly occur due to exposure to certain environmental conditions such as certain chemicals, ultraviolet radiation, and radioactive materials. Mutations in somatic cells can cause certain diseases such as cancer and neurological diseases. The single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technique (Pacific Bioscience) enables scientists to sequence full-length transcript which helps for instant identification of compound mutations in a clonal cell population. Contact us about our Somatic variant sequencing service and we will be glad to discuss pricing and turn-around time.

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is a group or complex of genes that regulate the immune system in the human body by encoding the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins. The HLA gene complex is located on 3mbp region of chromosome 6p21 which harbors six classical genes and 132 protein-coding genes. The HLA genes are associated with many kinds of diseases such as infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. They also play a vital role in accepting or rejecting organ transplant. Sequencing of the HLA region will help to detect alleles associated with particular disease. The single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technique (Pacific Bioscience) is an ideal method for de novo sequencing of alleles of HLA genes in full length. Since this method produces sequences of 10-20Kbp, consensus sequences of HLA alleles are achieved without reference sequences. Contact us to find out more about our low cost HLA sequencing options.