DOE Human Genome Program Contractor-Grantee Workshop VIII
February 27-March 2, 2000  Santa Fe, NM

153. Implementation and Evaluation of Large Scale, Low Cost Sequencing Technologies at Stanford

Michael J. Proctor, Stanford University

The Stanford DNA Sequencing and Technology (SDSTC) was funded in Jan 1999 to make its high throughput DNA sequencing technology available to the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) in Walnut Creek. The SDSTC has developed a suite of custom robotic instruments for the automation of shotgun sequencing of genomic DNA. The primary focus of this development has been the reduction of the cost of sequencing genomic DNA through the elimination of labor and through increases in the efficiency fo the use of reagents and disposables. The system should be completed by the end of this year. The system will have a cost per sequencing lane of $0.30 and have a throughput of 7000 samples/day. All components of the system will be made available to the JGI. In order to reduce the cost of the instrumentation delivered to JGI, we have joined with an industrial partner (GeneMachines Inc., San Carlos). All manufacturing and technical support of the instrumentation delivered to JGI is handled by GeneMachines. Over the past year, JGI has successfully imported and implemented 3 of our sequencing modules: the point sink shearing device; the plaque/colony picker; and the enhanced oxygen atmosphere shaker. At the SDSTC, we are continuing to implement improvements to these instruments as well as to the M13 prep station and plasmid prep station. These latter two instruments should be ready for export with expanded capabilities during the next year of this grant. The final instrument, the small volume thermal cycler, will be in production implementation at the SDSTC this fall. We will work with the JGI to make this technology available to them over the next year.