Next-generation DNA sequencing demonstrates potential in identifying mutations in SCLC

Applied Biosystems, part of Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:LIFE), today announced the publication of a paper in the journal Nature that demonstrates the power of next-generation DNA sequencing used to identify DNA mutations in a small cell lung cancer (SCLC) line and identify the mutational burden associated with tobacco smoking. The paper, authored by researchers from the Wellcome Trust Cancer Institute and co-authored by Applied Biosystems, demonstrates the potential for next-generation sequencing to provide unprecedented insights into mutational processes, cellular repair pathways and gene networks associated with cancer development.

“The publication of this paper emphasizes the power that next-generation sequencing, such as Applied Biosystems’ SOLiD™ System, has to improve science’s understanding of disease and its potential to develop better diagnostics and therapeutic treatment,” said Kip Miller, President, Genetic Systems for Life Technologies. “Today’s SOLiD 3 Plus System offers even more capability and is faster, more robust and more economical than the SOLiD 2.0 System that generated the data in the paper.”

These impactful results were generated at the Sanger Institute using an early version of the SOLiD System. Massively parallel sequencing on Applied Biosystems’ SOLiD 2.0 System enabled the researchers to identify all of the mutations in the SCLC line NCI-H209 and compare them to a matched normal cell line. Data identified several mutation signatures that reflect the wide range of carcinogens in tobacco smoke, which is notable because 90 percent of patients with SCLC smoked during their lives.

Today’s SOLiD 3 Plus System is capable of generating over 60Gb of mappable sequence at an accuracy greater than 99.95 percent.

To read the complete paper, please visit http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature08629.html.