454 sequencing reveals new class of small RNAs.CuraGen Corporation's (Branford, CT) majority-owned subsidiary majority-owned subsidiary A firm in which more than 50% of outstanding voting stock is owned by the parent company. 454 Life Sciences Corporation (Branford, CT) announced that researchers have uncovered a new class of small, non-coding RNAs in worms. Using massively parallel See MPP. sequencing technology, David Bartel, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Howard Hughes Medical Institute, (HHMI), nonprofit medical research organization founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes and largly funded from proceeds of the 1984–85 sale of Hughes Aircraft. Headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md. Investigator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, (Cambridge, MA), and colleagues sequenced some 400,000 small RNAs from Caenorhabditis elegans Caenorhabditis elegans (IPA: [ˌsiːnəʊræbˈdaɪtɪs ˈelegænz]) is a free-living nematode (roundworm), about 1 mm in length, which lives in temperate soil environments. , identifying 18 new microRNA genes and more than 5,000 other RNAs of a type that had not been previously reported. The study, entitled, "Large-scale sequencing reveals 21U-RNAs and additional microRNAs and endogenous siRNAs in C. elegans C. elegans A nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans) that lives in soil, feeds on bacteria, and reaches lengths of about 1 mm (0.04 inch). It was the first animal whose genome was completely sequenced, and is widely used as a "model organism" by " appeared in the December 15 issue of the journal Cell, and describes how 454 Sequencing was used to determine the small RNAs naturally found in worms. "This discovery further emphasizes the point that we have not completely reached the depths of RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic function, and we are excited to see how this develops," said Michael Egholm, Ph.D., Vice President, Molecular Biology molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weaver, then director of the natural sciences program at the Rockefeller , 454 Life Sciences. "It will be interesting to see if the ultra-deep capabilities of 454 Sequencing will lead to the discovery of new classes of small RNAs in other species." Bartel's group has been systematically working its way through the RNA census of C. elegans for several years now. In 2001, the group sequenced 330 small RNAs using traditional Sanger sequencing to identify 55 microRNAs. Bartel followed that project up in 2003 with a deeper sequencing effort, reading 4,000 small RNAs to yield an additional 40 or so microRNAs. In this latest study, his team used 454 Sequencing to read some 400,000 small RNAs, including 18 new microRNAs. 454 Life Sciences has made its technology commercially available via the 454 Sequencing Center, which offers sequencing services to clients worldwide. The Genome Sequencer See MIDI sequencer. (music) sequencer - Any system for recording and/or playback of music via a programmable memory which stores music not as audio data, but as some representation of notes. 20 System and related products are sold worldwide by Roche Applied Science, a business unit of Roche Diagnostics Roche Diagnostics Division is a subsidiary of Hoffmann-La Roche which manufactures equipment and reagents for research and medical diagnostic applications. Internally, it is organized into six major business areas: Roche Applied Science, Roche Centralized Diagnostics, Roche . 454 Life Sciences, established in 2000 as a majority-owned subsidiary of CuraGen, develops and commercializes novel instrumentation for high-throughput nucleotide sequencing, with specific application to whole-genome sequencing and ultra-deep sequencing of target genes. The hallmarks of 454 Sequencing are its simple, unbiased sample preparation and massively parallel sequencing, which makes large-scale scientific projects feasible and more affordable. The Genome Sequencer 20 System enables one individual to prepare and sequence an entire genome, regardless of size. A single instrument using patented light emitting sequencing chemistries produces over 20 million nucleotide bases per five-hour run, more than 60 times the capacity of currently available instruments. In 2005, 454 Sequencing and the Genome Sequencer 20 System won The Wall Street Journal's top Innovation Award for 2005, and received an R&D 100 Editor's Choice Award as one of the most technologically significant products introduced in 2006. The 454 Sequencing Center offers sequencing services directly to customers on a fee for service basis. The Genome Sequencer 20 system is exclusively distributed for 454 Life Sciences by Roche Applied Science, a division of Roche Diagnostics. 454 Life Sciences Corporation www.454.com CuraGen Corporation +1-888-436-6642 www.curagen.com |
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