PacBio, a leading developer of high-quality, highly accurate sequencing solutions, announced the creation of the Consortium for Long Read Sequencing (CoLoRS) that aims to accelerate the utility of long-read human genome datasets. Researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology are among the founding members of the consortium.
The HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center (GSC), led by co-directors Jane Grimwood, PhD, and Jeremy Schmutz, are experts in genome sequencing, assembly, and analysis. The GSC is a PacBio Certified Service Provider and has piloted new PacBio technologies over the past decade. Although much of their initial long-read sequencing work was done in plants, they have since expanded into human genome long-read sequencing through work with their HudsonAlpha colleague Greg Cooper, PhD. Cooper’s lab focuses on using genome sequencing to diagnose rare diseases. Using long-read technology, the Cooper lab can diagnose previously undiagnosed diseases by identifying variants in complex parts of the genome that short-read technology just couldn’t unravel.
“Long-read sequencing is poised to uncover genetic variation that we couldn’t detect with short-read sequencing, including many variants that lead to disease,” says Cooper. “HudsonAlpha is excited to be part of this consortium and share these new and exciting datasets with other researchers across the globe, hopefully leading to a better understanding of rare genetic diseases.”
To learn more about the consortium, read PacBio’s press release here, or visit the CoLoRS website here.
