New Chinese Sequencer Promises 60 Human Genomes In A Day
By Bio-IT World Staff
October 25, 2018 | MGI Tech (part of BGI), introduced the next iteration of its sequencer, the MGISEQ-T7, at the 13th International Conference on Genomics (ICG-13) in Shenzhen. The company also announced new library and sample prep and an application for tumor mutation detection.
The proprietary MGI technology used in T7 delivers higher accuracy and improves efficiency through upgrades to the flowcell, fluid, and biochemical and optical system. The new sequencer delivers quadruple flowcell staging that allows simultaneous but independent operation of 1 to 4 flowcells in a single run.
The platform supports whole genome sequencing, ultra-depth exome sequencing, epigenome sequencing, and large-panel tumor gene detection, and has a daily data output capacity of up to 6Tb. The company reports that MGISEQ-T7 can complete whole genome sequencing for up to 60 human genomes in a single day.
“MGI is developing at an unprecedented speed, and our technology has advanced to lead the market,” said MGI CEO Feng Mu in a statement. “This new instrument demonstrates the level of MGI’s innovation and commitment to progress: we continually challenge ourselves and drive towards our goal to make highly accurate next generation sequencing more affordable to benefit more people around the world.”
The MGISEQ-T7 includes:
Unique Quad-Flowcell Platform, supporting independent operation of 1-4 chips
A quad-flowcell platform enables multiple flowcells with different read lengths and applications to be processed independently at any time in a single run, saving time and cost.
Sequencing speed has increased by over 50%, completing PE 150 in less than 24 hours
Whether it’s a single chip or four chips running simultaneously, MGISEQ-T7 can maintain its consistently strong processing capacity. With MGISEQ-T7, PE150 takes less than 24 hours at full load to complete.
Single chip density increased by 20%, achieving ultra-high throughput
Terabyte-level data can be produced with a single chip. Without interruptions for 24 hours, running 4 chips independently, MGISEQ-T7 can produce up to 6Tb of data in one day.
In addition to the T7, MGI announced improved sample prep and library prep for long fragment reads, and an additional application to the MegaBOLT bioinformatics accelerator. For sample prep, MGI has developed an automated sample preparation system based on the needs of ultra-high-throughput genomic sequencing. The new MGISP-960, which has a higher throughput and can prepare 96 samples in one run, is a major advance from the previously released MGISP-100 that can automatically prepare 8 samples in one run. There is also a new library preparation kit for single tube Long Fragment Reads (stLFR) technology, which significantly reduces the cost and complexity of long fragment library preparation. It was introduced in March, and will be commercially available in December.
Finally, MegaBOLT Somatic is an extended application for tumor mutation detection based on the MegaBOLT bioinformatics accelerator released in May. MegaBOLT Somatic dramatically cuts the time needed for tumor analysis, down to two hours for WGS and 10 minutes for WES. The cost reduction and the speed increase of MegaBOLT Somatic will provide alternatives for tumor gene sequencing analysis to benefit patients and researchers.