First amplification-free, unbiased view of a transcriptome by single molecule sequencing

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 single molecule sequencing was used to provide a digital expression profile of a eukaryotic transcriptome. The research article, now appearing in the on-line edition of Nature Biotechnology, demonstrates the unparalleled accuracy, precision and sensitivity of the Helicos™ Digital Gene Expression (DGE) application combined with the power of the Helicos™ Genetic Analysis System. The article will appear in the July 8, 2009 print issue of Nature Biotechnology.

The study consists of a high throughput, amplification-free and ligation-free approach to the accurate quantification of the yeast expressed genome using as few as one of the fifty channels of the HeliScope™ Single Molecule Sequencer.

“Scientists have long sought a simple and quantitative solution for globally interrogating the transcriptome,” said Patrice Milos, PhD, the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. “The data generated using Helicos DGE in our publication in Nature Biotechnology demonstrates an important solution.”

Unlike other technologies that require complex sample preparation, which can drastically skew expression profiling results, the Helicos Genetic Analysis System provides the most direct view of a biological sample available today. Scientists at Helicos utilized the cellular, polyadenylated RNA from a simple cellular system, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, generated only first strand complementary DNA (cDNA) from that RNA, and, in a single step, modified the cDNA for analysis on the Helicos platform. Obtaining on average 12 million aligned reads per HeliScope channel, robust, accurate and highly reproducible measurements enabled a deep view of the yeast transcriptome. Further, sequence data provided information on unique transcripts, alternative transcription start sites and sequence variants present in these genomic samples. Read more...