454 Life Sciences, a Roche company, has launched the GS FLX Titanium Series of library paired-end adaptors.
They are designed for improved whole-genome de-novo sequencing and high-quality assembly using the Genome Sequencer FLX system.
The GS FLX Titanium Series features long 400-500 base shotgun reads, 3-kbyte, 8-kbyte and 20-kbyte span paired-end libraries and improved assembler software, to ease assembly of increasingly complex genomes.
It offers biologists more complete genome coverage, assembly into fewer, larger scaffolds and the ability to explore the full range of genetic variation.
Streamlined processes allow researchers to simultaneously sequence multiple shotgun and paired-end libraries in the same 10-hour instrument run, allowing quicker results.
The extra-long 20-kbyte span reads cover the highly repetitive regions of complex genomes and, in combination with long shotgun reads, essentially eliminate the need for time-consuming fosmids or Sanger method.
Additionally, algorithmic improvements to the GS De-Novo Assembler software have increased the speed and power to process larger, more complex genomes.
Chris McLeod, president and chief executive officer of 454 Life Sciences, said: 'For microbial research, near-finished draft assemblies of multiple genomes can now be generated in one week from the data produced in a single sequencing run.'
