Agilent Technologies this week introduced the SureSelect XT Mouse All Exon kit for streamlining next-generation sequencing studies.
Agilent said that the SureSelect XT Mouse kit is the first commercial system for target enrichment of a model organism exome. The company collaborated with Yoichi Gondo of Japan's Riken Institute to develop the kit based on the lab's previous experience with Agilent's SureSelect Human All Exon kit.
SureSelect XT combines sequencing library preparation and genomic DNA preparative reagents with the SureSelect target-enrichment system, Agilent said.
The new kit is the 34th SureSelect kit launched by Agilent since the product line was introduced in February 2009, the company said. SureSelect XT products are available for enriching target sizes ranging from smaller than 200 kb to more than 50 Mb in a single tube.
NanoString Technologies this week announced the expansion of its microRNA product line with the launch of the nCounter Mouse miRNA Expression Assay kit, a multiplexed assay for profiling the mouse mRNA transcriptome.
According to NanoString, the assay allows researchers to perform direct digital detection and counting of miRNAs at single-base resolution without the need for amplification. The kit provides the capacity to perform multiplexed profiling of more than 600 murine and murine-associated viral miRNAs in a single tube, with specificity and sensitivity comparable to quantitative PCR.
NanoString said that the kit has minimal sample input requirements and is compatible with a variety of sample types, including formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples.
Ipsogen said this week that its BCR-ABL Mbcr IS-MMR kits are now available for standardizing BCR-ABL Mbcr quantification by calibrating results to the International Scale.
The new kits are based on real-time quantitative PCR and contain an IS-MMR RNA calibrator. This RNA, directly calibrated against the 1st World Health Organization international genetic reference panel for BCR-ABL mRNA quantitation, allows conversion of BCR-ABL results to the International Scale and major molecular response assessment, Ipsogen said. The company also said that the new kits will be available in Europe with both the CE Mark for IVD and as research-use only products; while in North America, they will be for research use only.
American Type Culture Collection this week introduced its Universal Mycoplasma Detection Kit for highly sensitive and specific detection of Mycoplasma and related contaminants.
The new kit provides all components needed for a PCR reaction, including cell lysis buffers, sample lysis tubes, PCR mixes, and primers, ATCC said. The kits uses universal primers specific to the 16S rRNA coding region of the Mycoplasma genome along with a thermostable DNA polymerase. The test also uses "touchdown" PCR, which increases specificity by not amplifying DNA originating from other sources, the company said.
In approximately three hours, the kit will detect as few as 10 genomes of M. arginini; and it can recognize more than 60 species of Mycoplasma, Acholeplasma, Spiroplasma, and Ureaplasma, including the eight species most likely to contaminate cell culture, ATCC said.