Helicos BioSciences Corporation (NASDAQ: HLCS), a life science company focused on innovative genetic analysis technologies, today announced the publication of a landmark study in which Helicos’ True Single Molecule Sequencing (tSMS)™ technology was used to directly sequence individual molecules of RNA. The paper appeared yesterday in the on-line edition of Nature and will appear in an upcoming 2009 print issue of Nature.
The study consists of the accurate sequencing and quantitation of RNA molecules obtained directly from a biological sample without amplification, ligation or cDNA synthesis.
“Direct RNA sequencing is the first example of the innovative methods that can only be performed using true single molecule sequencing.” stated Patrice Milos, PhD, VP and Chief Scientific Officer. “Scientists, for the first time, will be able to analyze the RNA from their samples directly, completely eliminating the biases inherent to traditional RNA analysis techniques that rely on copying cDNA from RNA.”
Scientists at Helicos developed the methodology using synthetic oligoribonucleotides and applied it to the direct sequencing of PolyA+ RNA from the well-characterized yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This Direct RNA sequencing approach revealed new biological findings in the form of polyadenylated small nucleolar RNAs and heterogeneity in the 3’ polyadenylation sites in yeast transcripts.