Roche has entered into research collaboration with Stratos Genomics to support the development of its unique chemistry applied to single molecule sequencing of DNA fragments using protein nanopores. During this collaboration, a research team at Roche will work with Stratos scientists to support the development of efficient, low-cost sample preparation methods for DNA Xpandomers and also improve sequencing performance, by leveraging Roche’s knowledge in protein design, polymerase mutagenesis, modified nucleotide chemistries, and rare reagent manufacturing.
Stratos Genomics has pioneered a “Sequencing by Expansion” (SBX) method, which is a single molecule detection process that converts DNA into a larger surrogate molecule, called an Xpandomer. These Xpandomer molecules, 10 to 100 times longer than the original DNA, pass through a nanopore which has a detector to read out the signal. A polymerase can be used to synthesize the Xpandomers from a DNA template by incorporating customized expandable nucleotides and increasing the surrogate molecule through a rapid chemical reaction. SBX’s signal-to-noise advantage has the potential to enable accurate, high throughput sequencing on reduced-cost nanopore systems.
“The recent advancements of the SBX method for detection of single molecule reads using protein nanopore detectors further demonstrates the possibility of using single molecule platforms for whole-genome sequencing,” says Dan Zabrowski, Head of the Roche Sequencing Unit. “The investment by Roche will support our research team in advancing our chemistry for nanopore sequencing. We look forward to collaborating with Roche and bringing our technology to the sequencing market,” adds Allan Stephan, CEO and Chairman of the Board at Stratos Genomics. Learn more about Roche Molecular Diagnostics.
Read more
