Next-generation sequencer for evolutionary genomics

新的DNA测序方法已经彻底改变了生物科学，使研究人员和临床医生能够快速准确地对单个生物体的整个基因组进行测序，分析整个微生物基因组群落，对比肿瘤和健康组织的基因组，并进行广泛的基于基因组的分析，这些分析以前被认为太慢，昂贵或难以考虑尝试。在过去的10年里，这些新的基因组测序仪器已经迅速从异国情调和昂贵的好奇心发展成为普通和负担得起的设备。例如，第一个人类基因组序列是由工业规模的研究合作产生的，花费了数十亿美元，而人类基因组现在可以在一两周内在台式仪器上测序，花费数千美元。这样的能力将很快成为21世纪世纪生物学家工具箱的标准组成部分。这些新工具在发达国家生物研究的所有领域得到广泛使用，这意味着加拿大研究人员必须随时掌握这些方法及其产生的大量基因组信息：如果没有这种能力，加拿大研究人员将很快落后于竞争对手，无法开发基于基因组的方法来解决从保护遗传学到个性化医学等不同领域的问题。这种失去访问权的最重要后果将是研究生和博士后在生物学基因组分析前沿方法方面的培训质量相对下降。在这项申请中，SFU研究人员在基础和应用研究中使用遗传和基因组方法，提出购买新的基因组分析仪。这种负担得起的台式仪器将提供灵活，具有成本效益和及时的基因组测序能力，这将取代我们研究小组中的一些当前传统测序，补充我们对大规模高通量基因组测序服务的使用校外，并为新的研究和基因组方法和数据分析的高质量培训开辟了可能性。

New DNA sequencing methods have revolutionized the biological sciences by allowing researchers and clinicians to quickly and accurately sequence the entire genome of a single organism, analyze whole communities of microbial genomes, contrast the genomes of tumours and healthy tissues, and carry out a broad array of genome-based analyses that were previously considered to be far too slow, expensive, or difficult to even consider attempting. In the last 10 years, these new genome sequencing instruments have quickly developed from exotic and expensive curiosities into commonplace and affordable pieces of equipment. For example, the first human genome sequences were produced by industrial-scale research collaborations and cost billions of dollars, whereas human genomes can now be sequenced on desktop instruments in a week or two for thousands of dollars. Such capabilities will soon be a standard part of the tool kit of 21st century biologists. The widespread use of these new instruments in all areas of biological research across the developed world means that Canadian researchers must have ready access to such methods and the extraordinary amount of genomic information that they produce: without such capabilities, Canadian researchers will quickly fall behind their competitors in the race to develop genome-based approaches to problems in diverse areas from conservation genetics to personalized medicine. The most important consequence of this lost access will be a relative decline in the quality of training for graduate students and postdocs in leading-edge methods for genomic analysis in biology. In this application, a diverse group of SFU researchers using genetic and genomic methods in basic and applied research propose the purchase of a new genome analyzer. This affordable, desktop instrument will provide flexible, cost-effective, and timely access to genome sequencing capabilities that will replace some current traditional sequencing in our research groups, complement our uses of large-scale high-throughput genome sequencing services off-campus, and open up possibilities for new research and for high-quality training in genomic methods and data analysis.