454 Life Sciences has announced that the list of peer-reviewed publications in which the Genome sequencer system has been used has reached 454.
In September 2005, a paper published in the journal 'Nature' introduced a novel, highly parallel sequencing system capable of producing 100-fold greater throughput than the state-of-the-art capillary electrophoresis instrument.
The paper, entitled 'Genome Sequencing in Microfabricated High-Density Picolitre Reactors', marks the first in a list of peer-reviewed publications that now 454, all enabled by the technology of 454 sequencing.
With 150 publications thus far in 2009, the Genome sequencer system has the fastest rate of publication and spans the widest range of applications of any next-generation sequencing technology to date.
The 454th paper, published last month in 'Nature Biotechnology', is just one illustration of the scientific breakthroughs achieved with the advent of high-throughput sequencing technology.
The study, led by researchers at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, used the 454 sequencing system on mice to analyse the influence of single-nucleotide polymorphisms on miRNA-mediated repression.
MiRNAs are short, single-stranded RNA molecules that are involved in regulation of gene expression.
David Bartel, study author, said: 'Previously, when we wanted to observe the effects of miRNAs, we had to knock out the miRNA or change its target.
'In this study, we were able to observe miRNA regulation in the animal, without having to alter either the miRNA or its target.' A testament to the versatility of the platform, the 454 publications span a range of applications, including de novo sequencing, resequencing of whole genomes, target DNA regions, metagenomics, and transcriptome analysis.
For example, the system has been used by researchers to identify a novel virus responsible for the death of organ transplant recipients and has opened new doors in the field of paleogenomics by enabling the comparison of extinct species, such as the woolly mammoth and Neanderthal, to their relatives that are alive today.
The technology of 454 Sequencing has also been used to enhance our understanding of key agricultural crops, such as maize and oil palm, in order to generate a more sustainable supply of food and energy in the future.
Finally, its use in medical research studies continues to bring us closer to the ultimate vision of personalised healthcare, by identifying the genetic basis of disease and drug response.
The speed at which researchers are publishing highlights the usability of 454 Sequencing data.
In one example, researchers at Bielefeld University in Germany used a single sequencing run, generated during the installation of their Genome Sequencer FLX System, to completely assemble and characterize the genome of Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii.
The results from this 'one run and done' study were published in the 'Journal of Biotechnology'.
