Whole-Genome Sequencing
Comprehensively analyze the entire genome of your organism of interest with our long- and short-read whole-genome sequencing (WGS) services. No matter your sample type, experimental requirements, or clinical needs, we have the WGS service for you!
What is Whole-Genome Sequencing?
Whole-Genome Sequencing involves sequencing the entire genome of an organism of interest, including coding and non-coding regions.
This massively parallel sequencing technique provides a high-resolution, base-by-base analysis of functional and regulatory regions of the genome, positioning WGS as the most comprehensive form of genetic testing in clinical use.
In short-read WGS, the genome is broken down into relatively small fragments of approximately 200-500 bases before being sequenced. Short-read WGS facilitates the acquisition of high-quality, short-read data with high accuracy and sequence depth at relatively low costs.
In long-read WGS, the genome is broken down into longer fragments of approximately 20 kilobases (kb) before being sequenced. Long-read WGS facilitates the acquisition of high-quality sequencing data for long stretches of DNA with a relatively low error rate.
At Sampled, we use advanced WGS technologies and in-house expertise to facilitate genome-wide exploratory identification of genetic variants from various sample types. For short-read WGS workflows, we utilize state-of-the-art Illumina sequencing platforms NovaSeq 6000 and NovaSeq X-plus, while for long-read workflows we utilize PacBio’s Revio sequencing system. The standard clinical-based assay benchmark coverage is 30X, but this can be tailored to meet the precise experimental or clinical needs of the customer.
It doesn’t end there. Once your WGS analysis is complete, we offer several bespoke data analysis and bioinformatics services to facilitate high-quality, expert-driven analyses; helping you to get the most out of your WGS data.
Why Use Sampled’s Whole-Genome Sequencing Services?
Sampled’s Whole-Genome Sequencing service facilitates comprehensive investigation of the entire genome, and there are many reasons why WGS service can support your needs, driving discoveries for any project.
Comprehensive Testing
WGS is the most comprehensive genomic test available. It can test a wide range of genes simultaneously; encompassing coding and non-coding regions and providing customers with a broad overview of large and small genetic variants within their sample of interest. By incorporating functional and regulatory regions, WGS ensures that nothing is missed! Moreover, WGS has a high degree of accuracy and can pinpoint potential causative variants for follow-up studies.
Flexible
Our WGS services can be tailored to suit your project-specific experimental or clinical requirements. We have the capabilities to work with a wide range of sample types and can sequence the genome at the depth most suitable to your project requirements and/or available resources. On top of that, we offer bespoke data-analysis services to help you get the most out of your data.
Cost-Effective
We understand that the capital costs of the required equipment, maintenance, and expertise for WGS remain considerable. Outsourcing WGS offers a cost-effective way to analyze all the regions of an organism’s genome without the high costs of equipment, maintenance, and bioinformatics support required. What’s more, we offer a flexible service with coverage levels to suit your resources.
Rapid Turnaround
WGS is notoriously a complex, time-consuming process, with turnaround times varying depending on in-house capabilities and sample number. However, here at Sampled, we pride ourselves in offering high-quality services with an equally high level of efficiency – our streamlined processes and advanced technologies allow us to offer significantly reduced turnaround times on numerous samples. By delivering large volumes of data in short amounts of time, WGS can support the assembly of novel genomes.
Data Analysis Support
The vast range of capabilities across Sampled’s teams allows us to offer a true end-to-end service. This means that our support doesn’t stop when the sequencing is complete: we can continue to work with you to support your data analysis needs, utilizing the expertise of our knowledgeable bioinformatics team.
Whole-Genome Sequencing Applications
WGS enables a broad range of variant types to be tested simultaneously across several genes. As a result, the applications for WGS are infinite, some common examples of which are detailed below.
At Sampled, we are always happy to discuss a WGS project for a new application, so if your application of interest is not listed, please don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss it further.
- Clinical applications
- Disease identification
- Diagnostics
- Pharmacogenomics
- Research studies
- Population health studies
- Cancer research
- Infectious disease research
- Novel genome assembly
- Agrigenomics
- Trait selection
How Does Whole-Genome Sequencing Work?
Sample Preparation
We work with diverse sample types, from blood samples to tumor biopsies. Upon receiving samples, our in-house sample processing team processes these, extracting high-quality DNA from the samples and performing quality control checks on the extracted DNA. If we receive pre-purified DNA samples, our team will perform the necessary quality control checks to ascertain that only the highest quality DNA is carried forward for sequencing pipelines.
Library Preparation
Library preparation is the process of preparing DNA samples for sequencing workflows. It involves fragmentation, end-repair, and covalent linking of genomic DNA (gDNA) to adapters (small, artificial DNA sequences) to produce a library of appropriately sized fragments, allowing for downstream processing and sample identification. At Sampled, short- and long-read WGS library preparation processes are automated, enabling us to offer a more reliable, scalable sequencing service.
Sequencing
For short-read WGS, we utilize Illumina’s advanced NovaSeq 6000 and NovaSeq X-plus sequencing systems. For long-read WGS, we use PacBio’s Revio sequencing system. These platforms are robust and scalable, meaning we can sequence high-quality data at high throughput. Moreover, Sampled is recognized as a certified service provider for PacBio WGS sequencing systems and has partnered with Illumina to offer their laboratory services.
Data Analysis
The final step of any genomics-based workflow is data analysis. First, raw sequencing data will be quality controlled to ensure the workflow has successfully produced high-quality WGS data. If no data analysis support is required, clients are provided with the raw data for in-house analysis. Alternatively, our expert bioinformaticians can perform automated data analysis using bespoke analysis pipelines to help you get the most out of your data.
What Are the Input Requirements for Whole-Genome Sequencing?
We work with a diverse range of sample types, which are processed by our sample processing team before library preparation and sequencing. We have a multitude of experience working with samples from several different organisms, including, but not limited to: humans, mice, and rats.
| Item | Type |
|---|---|
| Sample Types | High-quality DNA sourced from, blood, serum, saliva, tissue biopsies, hair, nail, stool, urine, semen, and cell line samples/pellets We also work with pre-extracted DNA |
| Storage/Transport Conditions | Pre-extracted DNA should be transported at 4°C (or as close to the previous storage conditions as possible). For information on other tissue types please contact a member of our team |
Your sample will be processed and purified to obtain high-quality gDNA prior to library preparation. Where pre-purified DNA is provided, we will perform the necessary quality control steps to ensure the DNA is optimal for subsequent sequencing workflows.
Find out more about our Whole-Genome Sequencing services
Are you interested in learning more about the whole-genome sequencing services we offer here at Sampled? Do you have a project you’d like to discuss with one of our sequencing experts? Get in touch today to find out more and receive a bespoke quote for your project!
