华大基因BGI-NEWSLETTER-V2I10

BGI Newsletter Subscribe / Unsubscribe News from BGI Spotlights in Genomics Research Highlight Contact BGI Newsletter Tel: +86 755 25283805 Email: bgi-newsletter@service.genomics.cn This E-mail was sent from BGI, If you do not wish to receive such communication, please click here to unsubscribe. October 2012 Volume 2 Issue 10 Spotlights in Genomics / News from BGI / Research Highlight www.genomics.cn Complete Genomics and BGI Announce Definitive Agreement to Merge Complete Genomics, Inc., an innovative leader in whole human genomic sequencing, and BGI, announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Through this agreement, a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of BGI will launch a tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of Complete for $3.15 per share in cash, without interest. More Chinese Scientists Report Oyster Genome Uncover the Stress Adaptation and Complexity of Shell Formation An international research team, led by Institute of Oceanology of Chinese Academy of Sciences and BGI, has completed the sequencing, assembly and analysis of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) genome—the first mollusk genome to be sequenced—that will help to fill a void in our understanding of the species-rich but poorly explored mollusc family. More BGI Tech Develops Whole Exome Sequencing Analysis of FFPE DNA Samples to Accelerate Biomedical Research BGI Tech Solutions Co., Ltd. announced that they have achieved whole exome sequencing analysis of total degraded DNA as low as 200ng from formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples. This advancement enables researchers to efficiently uncover the genetic information from FFPE disease samples such as cancers and infectious diseases, with the advantages of high reliability, accuracy and fast turnaround time. More Chinese Scientists Discover MVK Mutations Associated With Disseminated Superficial Actinic A Chinese research team, led by Anhui Medical University and BGI, has found the strong genetic evidences of mevalonate kinase gene (MVK) mutations link to disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis (DSAP). It is a major step toward discovering the genetic pathogenesis of DSAP, and sheds an eye-opening insight into its further molecular diagnosis and treatment. The latest study was published online in Nature Genetics. More BGI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Sign MOU for Global Health and Agricultural Development BGI announced that it and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a collaboration on global health and agricultural development with the goal of achieving common objectives in health and agricultural development, and meaningfully contributing to the achievement of one or more of the Millennium Development Goals. More Professor Huanming Yang Elected to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Professor Huanming Yang, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chairman of BGI, was recently elected as a member of the German National Academy of Sciences, due to his outstanding contributions to the field of Human Genomics and Genetics. More BGI and INEX Enter Collaborative Agreement for Significantly Improving Reproductive Health BGI announced that it and INEX Innovations Exchange Pte Ltd (INEX) have formed a partnership to establish a Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) facility in Singapore to offer a suite of molecular genetics tests, starting with a non-invasive fetal trisomy (NIFTY) test to detect fetal chromosomal abnormalities in pregnant women. More BGI Enters Collaborative Agreement with Griffith University Boosting Education and Scientific Research BGI and Griffith University jointly announced that they came into a mutual agreement to conduct collaborations in teaching, training, research and other activities. Professor Allan Cripps, Pro Vice Chancellor (Health) at Griffith University. More BGI@CHOP Joint Genome Center to Offer Clinical Next-generation Sequencing Services The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and BGI announced today that the BGI@CHOP Joint Genome Center will begin to offer clinical next-generation sequencing (NGS) services at CHOP through the hospital's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in a CAP/CLIA-compliant environment. More BGI's First International Conference on Genomics in the Americas Provides Updates on Applications of Latest Technologies to Advance Personalized Medicine and Increase Global Food Production The inaugural International Conference on Genomics in the Americas (ICG Americas 2012), co-organized by BGI and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), successfully concluded on September 28 with numerous updates provided on on-going research applying today's latest technologies to a new paradigm of personalized medicine and to enhancing global food production. More China (Mainland) BGI-Shenzhen, Beishan Industrial Zone, Yantian District, Shenzhen, 518083, China Tel: 400-706-6615 +86-755-2527-3620 Email: tech@genomics.cn www.genomics.cn Asia Pacific（Hong Kong） BGI Hong Kong Co. Limited, 16th Dai Fu Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Po, Hong Kong Tel: +852-3610-3510 Email: bgihk.enquiry@genomics.org.cn www.bgisequence.com/hk North America (Boston) BGI Americas Corporation, One Broadway, 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA Tel: +1-617-500-2741 Email: info@bgiamericas.com www.bgiamericas.com www.bgisequence.com/us Europe (Copenhagen) BGI Europe, Copenhagen Bio Science Park, Ole Maaløes Vej 3, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark Tel: (+45) 70260806 Email: bgieurope@genomics.cn www.bgisequence.com Japan(Kobe) BGI Japan, Kobe KIMEC Center BLDG. 8F, 1-5-2 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, KobeCity, Hyogo-pref. 650-0047, JAPAN Tel: +81-78-599-6108 Email: bgijapan@genomics.cn www.bgisequence.com/jp/ Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Coming Up Events Hosted by BGI The 7th International Conference on Genomics & Bio-IT APAC 2012 November 28–December 1st, 2012, Hong Kong, China Learn More ISCB-Asia/SCCG 2012 December 17–December 19th, 2012, Shenzhen, China Learn More ASHG 2012 November 6-10th, 2012, San Francisco, CA Learn More www.genomics.cnSubscribe / Unsubscribe The 7th International Conference on Genomics & Bio-IT APAC 2012 Nov. 28th – Dec. 1st, 2012 Hong Kong, China Save up to USD 2 30 Exte nded! Register before Oct 23 Microbe 1. Many, Many Microbiomes More 2. Super-microbes Engineered to Solve World Environmental Problems More 3. Onset of Flu Season Raises Concerns About Human-To-Pet Transmission More 4. Bacterium in a Laser Trap: Light Tube Can Grab and Scan Even Tiniest of Unicellular Organisms More 5. Increase in Allergies Is Not from Being Too Clean, Just Losing Touch With 'Old Friends' More 6. New Antibiotic Cures Disease by Disarming Pathogens, Not Killing Them More 7. Form of Small Pox Virus Shows Potential for Treating Triple-Negative Breast Cancer More 8. Mosquito Genetics May Offer Clues to Control Malaria, Researchers Say More Human Health & Medicine 1. Discovery of Gatekeeper Nerve Cells Explains the Effect of Nicotine On Learning and Memory More 2. New Gene Test Detects Early Mouth Cancer Risk More 3. UPMC Plans $100M IT Investment to Support Personalized Medicine Effort More 4. USC Scientists Developing Platform to Gauge Single-Cell Gene Expression in Tissue Samples More 5. New TGen Center for Rare Childhood Disorders Leveraging Sequencing Technology More 6. Rapid Test Pinpoints Newborns' Genetic Diseases in Days More 7. Genome-Wide Study Identifies Eight New Susceptibility Loci for Atopic Dermatitis More 8. Mouse Stem Cells Yield Viable Eggs More Pharma & Biotech 1. Tree Nut Research May Unexpectedly Lead to Medical Advances More 2. U.S. Nationwide Meningitis Outbreak Update More 3. CHOP to Offer Targeted Gene Panels, Clinical Exome Sequencing More 4. Diabetes Discovery: Two Genes Increase Risk of Developing Diabetes-Associated Kidney Disease More 5. Medication Use Higher Among Overweight, Obese Kids More 6. Genetic Risk for Uterine Fibroids Identified More 7. Gene Variant Linked with Reduced Lung Cancer Risk More 8. Breathe in, Breathe out: New Way of Imaging Lungs Could Improve Copd Diagnosis and Treatment More Plants & Animals 1. May the Force Be With Them: Deep Sea Acorn Worms Named After Yoda More 2. Increasing Occurrence of MRSA Bacteria in Denmark More 3. 'Disgusted' Rats Teaching Scientists About Nausea, Work May Lead to New Cancer Treatments More 4. 'Superweeds' Linked to Rising Herbicide Use in GM Crops, Study Finds More 5. Insects Shape Genetic Landscape Through Plant Defenses More 6. New Technologies Advance Livestock Genomics for Agricultural and Biomedical Uses More 7. Mice With Black Fur That Turns White Help Illuminate Skin Pigmentation More 8. Potato Storage: Essential Oils as Antigerminants More 9. Local funding leads to big things in parrot genomics More Metagenome-Wide Association Study of Gut Microbiota in Type 2 Diabetes Gut microbiota has been widely considered as an important contributor to many kinds of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, it is still unclear on what and how exactly these commensal microbes contribute to human health. BGI recently reported its online publication in the journal Nature of a novel metagenomic study on human gut microbiota and their potential impact on T2D, the most common form of diabetes. This work lays an important foundation for comprehensively understanding the genetic characteristics of gut microbiota and their relationship to T2D risk, as well as providing a new way of classifying microbes detected by DNA sequence. The work here also opens the way for transferring the potential value of a gut-microbiota-based approach into a means for clinical assessment and diagnosis of patients at risk of this disease. In the study: They developed a protocol for carrying out a metagenome-wide association study (MGWAS), and used it in a two-stage MGWAS analysis to better defining T2D-associated metagenomic markers. They sequenced the gut microbial DNA from 345 Chinese patients with T2D and identified approximately 60,000 T2D-associated markers that might be useful for detecting and characterizing T2D. They developed the concept of metagenomic linkage group (MLG) that allows easy classification and description of the abundant metagenomic data in a taxonomic form that can be used to replace traditional taxonomic classification approaches. In general, they found that healthy individuals typically had a higher number of butyrate-producing bacteria, which the researchers theorize may play a protective role against several types of diseases. In the T2D patients, that saw an increase in the number of, opportunistic pathogens, with the type of pathogen being quite diverse from patient to patient. ★ ★ ★ ★