Third generation sequencing arrives at IPS2.

The SPOmics platform expands the sequencing panel of IPS2 by acquiring the third generation sequencing system MinIon from Oxford Nanopore. This sequencing platform produces sequences of several thousands of base pairs and offers new applications to IPS2. This system will be used in transcriptomics analysis to study transcripts isoforms and alternative splicing in model species but also to generate high-quality reference transcriptomes for plant species lacking a sequenced genome. In genomics, the MinIon can be used to study genomic rearrangements and will facilitate the de novo assembly of genomes. Based on a completely different sequencing principle, this sequencing platform is complementary to the NextSeq500 and Miseq platforms from Illumina which have been available on the IPS2 platforms for several years.