NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – OpGen today said that it has entered into a scientific and technical partnership with the University of California, Davis under which the firm will participate in the 100K Genome Project.
The project, which was launched earlier this year, aims to sequence the genomes of 100,000 infectious microorganisms and eventually speed up the diagnosis of foodborne illnesses. Partners announced at the launch of the project were UC Davis, Agilent Technologies, and the US Food and Drug Administration, with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Agriculture noted as collaborators.
OpGen said that UC Davis will integrate the firm's Argus Whole Genome Mapping System into its DNA sequencing workflow for sequence assembly and validation of the microorganisms' genomes. The Gaithersburg, Md.-based firm said that the 100K Genome Project will publish the genomes that are completed and validated using the Argus system to a database and provide access to the genomic maps for public health agencies around the world.
"Whole Genome Mapping provides an independent method to detect sequence variations and misassemblies, and aids us in closing the gaps," Bart Weimer, professor in the Department of Population and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, at UC Davis, and director of the 100K Pathogen Genome Project, said in a statement. "Final Whole Genome Maps will assist health agencies in outbreak management of food borne diseases which cause tremendous risk to public health."