High throughput sample handling for high throughput genomics

资金要求购买高通量样品处理套件连同5年保修期。购买这套设备的申请是由布里斯托尔基因组研究所的学术主任基思·爱德华兹教授发起的，他与布里斯托尔和其他地方的几位研究人员和工业合作伙伴进行了讨论。直接受益于布里斯托尔套房的研究人员包括阿曼达·丘吉尔博士在布里斯托尔对老龄化和福祉的研究，伊恩·金教授在诺丁汉对粮食安全的研究，艾莉森·本特利博士在NIAB对粮食安全的研究，以及克里斯·伯特博士在RAGT的小麦育种，以解决与粮食安全相关的问题。所有这些案例都是除了Keith Edwards教授自己对小麦育种及其与粮食安全关系的广泛研究和Gary Barker博士在宏基因组学方面的研究之外的。支持的科学案例都需要高通量测序和基因分型；高通量样品处理套件可实现基因组范围应用所需的规模，例如通过测序和基因组扫描进行基因分型。高吞吐量处理套件由两个主要组件组成；1. Biomek 4000是一种液体处理工作站，支持多种应用，包括DNA提取，扩增，设置，样品稀释和归一化，2。Covaris E220是一种聚焦式超声纳仪，能够进行多样品、批量制备和处理各种样品类型和体积。E220可编程为在单个批次中处理多达96个样品，每个样品具有可变的超声要求和体积。这使得它有可能为许多生物和化学应用带来优势，包括DNA，这是下一代测序基因组DNA文库制备方法的标准部分。虽然还有其他可用的自动化平台，但我们要求一个能够提供最大灵活性的平台，以满足现有管道的需求，并支持新应用程序的开发，而不是封闭的系统机器人，这会限制投资的使用

Funds are requested to purchase a High Throughput Sample Handling Suite together with a 5-year warranty.The application to purchase the suite has been instigated by Professor Keith Edwards, the academic director of the Bristol Genomics Facility, following discussions with several researchers and industrial partners both at Bristol and beyond. Researchers who would directly benefit from installing the Suite at Bristol include Dr Amanda Churchill's Bristol-based research into ageing and wellbeing, Professor Ian King's Nottingham-based research into food security, Dr Alison Bentley's research into food security at NIAB and Dr Chris Burt's wheat breeding at RAGT to address issues associated with food security. All of these cases are in addition to Professor Keith Edwards' own extensive research into wheat breeding and its relationship to food security and Dr Gary Barker's research in metagenomicsThe scientific cases for support all require high throughput sequencing and genotyping; the high throughput sample handling suite enables this on a scale required for genome wide applications such as genotyping by sequencing and genome scanning. The high throughput handling suite consists of two main components; 1. The Biomek 4000 is a liquid handling workstation supporting a variety of applications including DNA extraction, amplification, setup, sample dilution and normalization, 2. The Covaris E220 is a focussed ultra-sonicator capable of multi-sample, batch preparation, and processing a wide range of sample types and volumes. The E220 may be programed to process up to 96 samples in a single batch each with variable sonication requirements and volumes. This makes it possible to bring the advantages to numerous biological and chemical applications including, DNA which is a standard part of genomic DNA library preparation methods for next generation sequencing. Whilst there are other automation platforms available, we are requesting one that provides maximum flexibility to feed into existing pipelines and support the development of new applications, as opposed to closed system robotics which would limit the usage of the investment