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Project
Single molecule long-read sequencing technology: beyond state-of-the-art in biological and medical research.
This project aims to advance the currently available
sequencing technologies at the University of Antwerp (UA)
by acquiring a third generation sequencing (3GS) platform.
The flagship of the third generation, single-molecule longread
sequencers, PacBio Sequel, harnesses the natural
process of DNA replication and enables real-time
observation of DNA synthesis. 3GS promises to open new
avenues for sequencing-based research beyond the current
state-of-the-art for this consortium, which consists of more
than 14 UA research groups in various disciplines of
medicine, biology and bioinformatics. Furthermore, several
third parties have also committed to utilize this technology
for their ongoing and future research studies. 3GS will be
utilized by this consortium to (i) sequence prokaryotic and
eukaryotic genomes, and difficult-to-sequence genome
regions, (ii) identify new genes and mutations in various
rare Mendelian disorders, (iii) identify epigenetic
modifications to better understand biological processes like
gene expression and host-pathogen interactions, (iv)
precisely profile the human, murine, and environmental
microbiome in disease and under various environmental
stressors, and (v) develop novel preventive therapies for
infection-prone disorders for better drug targeting. The
analysis of the large amount of genomic and transcriptomic
data generated by the various research groups will be
coordinated by the UZA/UA bioinformatics group Biomina.
Date:1 May 2018 → 30 Apr 2021
Keywords:GENOMICS, TRANSCRIPTOMICS, BIOINFORMATICS
Disciplines:Scientific computing, Bioinformatics and computational biology, Public health care, Public health services
Project type:Collaboration project