Scientists Publish Unique Discoveries in Plant and Animal Genomic Investigations With Single Molecule, Real-Time Sequencing From PacBio

New scientific publications demonstrate the increasing use of Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) Sequencing from Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.,

to elucidate complex genomes and traits for plant and animal species. These papers show that SMRT Sequencing enables critical discoveries that cannot be found with other sequencing technologies, the company announced. "These publications add to the mounting evidence demonstrating it is possible to produce very high-quality, complete genome assemblies for model and non-model organisms with SMRT Sequencing," said Jonas Korlach, Chief Scientific Officer at Pacific Biosciences. "These assemblies serve as invaluable long-term resources for the plant and animal research communities and are rapidly advancing our understanding of important biological mechanisms in complex organisms, even for organisms thought to be fully characterized already." A new paper released in Nature today reported the virtually complete draft genome of Oropetium thomaeum, a grass species that can regrow after extreme drought when water becomes available. The plant's 245 Mb genome was analyzed with 72x coverage on the PacBio® RS II Sequencing System by scientists at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and collaborating institutions. The resulting assembly is >99.999%