Roche has announced a software upgrade and upcoming performance and workflow improvements to its 454 GS Junior System.
As a benchtop next-generation sequencing platform, the GS Junior System is used in research on areas including infectious disease, cancer, environmental microbiology and agriculture.
The new software package (v2.7) improves sequencing consistency and robustness. It also includes functionality improvements to the GS De Novo Assembler, GS Reference Mapper, and GS Amplicon Variant Analyser Software.
The company also announced the immediate availability of new protocols for paired end sequencing (3 kb, 8 kb, 20 kb span) using the GS FLX Titanium Rapid Library Preparation Kits.
The protocols enable simple sample multiplexing for paired end projects and reduce overall prep time.
In addition, the company has announced upcoming improvements to the GS Junior System, which include extension to sequencing read lengths and automation of the library preparation and emPCR workflow.
It claims the improvements will further ease the transition of projects from traditional Sanger capillary sequencing to 454 Sequencing Systems in basic and translational research laboratories around the world.
The planned improvements will first become available in late 2012 and during 2013.
