Pacific Biosciences launches the sequel IIe system to accelerate adoption of highly accurate HiFi sequencing

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc., a leading provider of high-quality sequencing of genomes, transcriptomes and epigenomes, has announced the launch of the Sequel^® IIe System, the next instrument evolution based on the company’s Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT^®) Sequencing technology. With increased computational capacity and on-instrument data processing, the new system can directly produce highly accurate long reads (HiFi reads) more quickly and more cost-effectively than ever, providing scientists with a comprehensive view of genomes and transcriptomes.

“The new Sequel IIe System represents the next advance in our technology, and makes HiFi sequencing accessible to any project where high accuracy, long read lengths, and affordability matter,” said Christian Henry, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Biosciences. “Prior to HiFi sequencing, researchers used multiple technologies and complex analysis methods in order to obtain results comparable to HiFi data. With the Sequel IIe System, it’s now simple to produce HiFi data directly — and scientists can feel confident using only one technology to power their genetic discoveries.”

Based on the reliability and performance of the award-winning Sequel II System, the Sequel IIe System features hardware and software improvements that enable users to work directly with the most valuable and informative sequencing data currently available, PacBio HiFi reads. Optimized for HiFi sequencing, the Sequel IIe System eliminates the need for post-processing of sequence data by users and delivers a 70% reduction in overall secondary analysis time, depending on the application. In addition, this new capability provides as much as a 90% reduction in file transfer and data storage needs. Further, this release includes powerful new tools in SMRT Link 10 software to enable complete workflow integration on the AWS cloud and a new Genome Assembly analysis application for generating reference-quality de novo assemblies from HiFi reads.

“HiFi reads allow the accurate and simultaneous detection of single nucleotide and structural variants, paving the way for advancements in human genetics and greatly expanding the utility of SMRT Sequencing,” said Fritz Sedlazeck, PhD, Assistant Professor, Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine. “Generating HiFi reads directly on the Sequel IIe System now has the potential to further accelerate cost-effective access to this information-rich sequencing data.”

PacBio HiFi reads combine the accuracy of Sanger sequencing (>99.9%) with long reads (up to 25 kb). Together, the length and accuracy of HiFi reads make them ideal for de novo genome assembly, detection of variants from single nucleotide to large structural variants, and other genomic or transcriptomic investigations. HiFi sequencing has provided important data for a number of high-profile global research projects, including the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium, Darwin Tree of Life, the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium, and the Solve-RD Project, among others. The precisionFDA Truth Challenge V2 evaluated methods for variant calling in human genomes and highlighted how approaches that use PacBio HiFi reads delivered the highest precision and recall in all categories including genome-wide, specifically in difficult-to-map regions, and in the major histocompatibility complex.

Additional details on the Sequel IIe System and HiFi sequencing applications will be presented in an ancillary workshop Monday, October 26, from 10:00 -11:00 a.m. PDT during the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Annual Meeting. Free virtual event registration is available here.

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