BGI Installs Roche System for Long Reads

May 16, 2012 | BGI has garnered a lot of attention for its sheer sequencing capacity. In 2010 BGI bought 135 Illumina HiSeq machines (see, Sequencing the Human Secret) and hasn't slowed down since. Now BGI has installed a new Roche GS FLX+ System at its Shenzhen facility to enhance BGI's long read sequencing capabilities and supplement the short read technologies. 

"So far, the system has been operated successfully with a stable performance," said Meifang Tang, director of BGI's NGS Department in a press release. "We can achieve the read lengths up to 1000 bp reads in our laboratory. With the implement of this system, we hope assemblies will be greatly improved with fewer gaps, longer contigs and scaffolds in de novo genomics and transcriptomic research."

Roche says the GS FLX+ system's combination of long reads, exceptional accuracy and high-throughput make the system well-suited for larger genome projects. Press release