Versatility of 454 Sequencing(TM) Demonstrated in Three Publications in Science...( Variety of new applications spans p...),Health

Variety of new applications spans paleogenomics, paired-end mapping, and

gene expression analysis

BRANFORD, Conn., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- 454 Life Sciences, a Roche company, is the subject of three ground-breaking studies published last week in Science, all of which employed the company's Genome Sequencer(TM) system. The studies, entitled "Paired-End Mapping Reveals Extensive Genomic Structural Variation in Humans", "Wasp Brain Gene Expression Supports an Evolutionary Link between Maternal Behavior and Eusociality", and "Whole-Genome Shotgun Sequencing of Mitochondria from Ancient Hair Shafts" appear online (ahead of print) in Science Express.

The three publications span a number of research fields and sequencing applications. The diversity of the publications illustrate the flexibility of 454 Sequencing and its ability to deliver scientifically relevant results in any research field employing DNA sequencing. The studies relied on long, highly accurate reads, including paired reads, characteristic of 454 Sequencing.

Previous studies of human genomic variation tended to look at changes called single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), variations that involve just one nucleotide. However, the study, "Paired-End Mapping Reveals Extensive Genomic Structural Variation in Humans," published today suggests that structural variation is responsible for a larger number of differences between the genomes of two individuals than SNPs. Furthermore, structural variation may have notable physical effects on an individual. The role that SV plays in human variability has not been well understood because of imprecise technology used in previous research. The novel approach described today in Science, called Paired End Mapping (PEM), used 454 Sequencing to comprehensively study SV at an unmatched level of resolution, detecting most of the structural variation in the human genome.

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