NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The Genome Analysis Centre in the UK and BioNano Genomics today announced a partnership for use of BioNano's Irys system, making TGAC a UK center of excellence for whole-genome mapping technology.
TGAC will use the Irys platform initially to improve the genome assembly of the British Ash tree sample from environmental group Earth Trust as part of TGAC's collaboration with Queen Mary University of London to study diseases that affect the species. TGAC will also use the system for its bread wheat genome sequencing project aimed at improving the DNA makeup of the crop.
The Irys platform images extremely long molecules for the observation of native genomic structures and has been used to generate genome maps for 85 organisms, providing insight into structural variation in crops, vertebrates, and human cancer genomes.
"Genome mapping is a powerful weapon in our arsenal to turn short DNA sequences into true depictions of whole chromosome pieces of DNA as they actually exist in nature," Matt Clark, plant and microbial genomics group leader at TGAC, said in a statement. "Assemblies of this quality are more useful to researchers and breeders, and ultimately the public."