Major effort for top DNA technology
Thanks to a donation from the Alice & Knut Wallenberg Foundation, Swedish scientists will have access to the world´s most powerful tool for decoding of DNA. This will enable them to establish the sequencing of the entire genetic make-up of a bacteria or virus by means of one single analysis.
This donation was given to the Dept. of Gene Technology, KTH School of Biotechnology, jointly with the Dept. of Genetics & Pathology at Uppsala University. Soon their research teams will also be able to study the total genetic make-up of even more complex organisms by means of the new technology, which is called “metagenomic sequence analysis”.
– Other research centres in Sweden have expressed prodigious interest in this project, says Joakim Lundeberg, Professor, Dept. of Gene Technology, and head of genetic research at KTH. Actually, this has led to a number of new joint projects, which is wonderful – this will become an enormous asset to Swedish science!
A primary version of this high-tech optical instrument has already been installed at KTH. It is able to generate the equivalent of 20 million DNA data bases in about five hours; an effort that would take months, or years, to achieve if the previous technologies are used. An experimental first-run of the equipment has just detected the genetic make-up of a previously undefined bacteria, which is often found in Swedish elks suffering from disease.
The instrument is referred to as a Genome Sequencer 20, manufactured by 454 Life Sciences and Roche Diagnostics; this is the first unit of its kind installed in Sweden. Its technology is based on the invention ”pyro-sequencing”, devised by KTH Professor Pål Nyrén.