BGI adopts single molecule, real-time sequencing from Pacific Biosciences

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc., (Nasdaq:PACB) provider of the PacBio RS II Sequencing System, today announced that BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, has purchased its first PacBio RS II instrument and plans to purchase additional units in order to integrate Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) Sequencing into its global service business.

"The de novo genome services offered by BGI will be supported by SMRT sequencing technology to take advantage of its long reads and improved accuracy of assembly," said Dr. Wang Jun, CEO of BGI. "The PacBio platform is ideal for complex genomes, such as those that are highly repetitive or hybrid. With the PacBio RS II we expect to meet our goal of delivering only complete genomes to our customers, and providing the best possible reference genomes for plants, animals and humans."

The PacBio RS II delivers the industry's longest read lengths combined with unbiased coverage and high accuracy. These characteristics enable customers to access the complete spectrum of sequence variant types, from single nucleotide polymorphisms to complex structural variation, and from genomic regions that were previously inaccessible. In addition, SMRT Sequencing is the only technology that provides direct detection of base modifications and direct variant phasing information across full-length genes and chromosome haplotype blocks.

Michael Hunkapiller, President and CEO of Pacific Biosciences, commented, "It's a great validation to us that the world's leading and largest sequencing operation has adopted PacBio technology. BGI is also a leader in sequencing data analysis, so we are delighted that more SMRT Sequencing data will be in their hands to work with and hopefully develop additional tools to help realize the full value of the data."

Provided by BGI Shenzhen