The CGR has been conducting research at
the leading edge of genomic technologies and data analysis in Liverpool,
England, for over a decade. With a diverse portfolio of projects including
metagenomics, plant and animal studies, cancer genomics and human genetics, the
CGR is constantly exploring new technologies and making innovative approaches
and applications available to researchers investigating fundamental and applied
biology.
SureSelect has been shown to greatly
increase the speed and efficiency of next-generation sequencing by enabling
researchers to focus experiments on genomic regions of interest rather than
sequencing the entire genome. Since it was introduced in 2009, SureSelect has
been instrumental in more than 250 published studies covering research into a
wide range of heritable disorders and complex diseases.
"We have relied on SureSelect in
our research efforts to produce consistent results that we and our
collaborators can be confident in," said professor Andy Cossins, head of
the Institute of Integrative Biology and co-director of the Centre for Genomic
Research. "Achieving certified status is an important step for the CGR and
will allow us to expand our sequencing leadership."
"The CGR is a highly regarded
collaborator in the sequencing community, and we're pleased that they are now
enabling more researchers across the UK to access the market-leading platform
for target enrichment," said Kathleen Shelton, senior director of Genomics
Marketing at Agilent. "Their certification is a great complement for our
SureSelect portfolio and will be a great benefit to collaborators."
To be certified, the CGR participated
in comprehensive on-site training and then passed a rigorous set of requirements
to demonstrate expertise and skill.
The SureSelect portfolio now includes
more than 21 products, and many more are in development. SureSelect is
compatible with major sequencing platforms such as Illumina, SOLiD and 454.
Users of Agilent's eArray design tool can improve the efficiency of their
research by easily designing custom products to target any genomic regions of
interest. SureSelect also allows customization of catalog kits with the
addition of custom content.
About CGR
The Centre for Genomic Research is a
high-throughput sequencing facility that has been operating as a full service
centre for genomic sciences, providing infrastructure as well as analytical and
technical expertise to the wider research community for more than 12 years. In an
increasingly dynamic marketplace for next-generation sequencing, the CGR
provides advice, data generation, analysis and interpretation, all in a
collaborative, question-driven environment. A commitment to research excellence
is reflected in the CGR's collaborations with basic, applied and commercial
research organizations addressing diverse research themes such as personalized
medicine, cancer genomics and transcriptomics, pathogen discovery and
population structures, metagenomics as well as plant and livestock genomics.
About Agilent in Genomics
Agilent Technologies Inc. is a global
leader in target enrichment for next-generation sequencing and genomic
microarrays. The Agilent SureSelect and HaloPlex target enrichment systems
enable researchers to easily choose which segments of a genome to sequence,
avoiding the time and expense needed to sequence the entire genome. HaloPlex
and its same day sample-to-sequencer workflow is well suited for next-gen
desktop sequencers, whereas SureSelect's ability to accurately capture whole
exomes and whole methylomes in a single reaction pairs well with
high-throughput next-gen sequencing systems. These are just two products
arising from Agilent's expertise in synthesizing custom complex mixtures of
long oligonucleotides gained in microarray manufacturing. Additional product
lines built on this core technology include microarrays for genome-wide
measurement of gene expression and for comparative genomics hybridization, as
well as SureFISH, a highly specific and sensitive product line for
oligonucleotide flourescent in situ hybridization. In addition to
oligonucleotide-based products, Agilent offers a microfluidic bioanlyzer to
measure sample quality, a target-enrichment tool to speed next-gen sequencing,
and a full set of reagents, hardware, methods and bioinformatics software for
genomic experiments.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is
the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical
analysis, life sciences, diagnostics, electronics and communications. The
company's 20,000 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent
had net revenues of $6.6 billion in fiscal 2011. Information about Agilent is
available at www.agilent.com.