|
Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory Selects Geospiza Analysis Software to Unlock Genetic Secrets in Sea Urchin Embryos SEATTLE, Washington – April 16th, 2009 – Geospiza, Inc., the market-leading developer of genetic analysis software, is helping the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory analyze next-generation sequence data to understand the effect of environmental contaminants on sea urchin embryos in a study that also has implications for human health. James A. Coffman, Ph.D., Senior Investigator at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) in Salisbury Cove, Maine, is directing two National Institutes of Health (NIH) projects, one studying genetic control of cell growth in the sea urchin embryo and one studying how environmental exposures can cause abnormal embryo development. “Sea urchin embryos use a lot of the same sort of regulatory systems used in mammalian development—including human development—at a very fundamental level,” said Coffman, who was part of the 2006 breakthrough decoding of the sea urchin’s genome sequence. “They’re much more closely related to mammals than other invertebrate model systems you’re more familiar with, such as fruit flies and nematodes.” “What we’re finding with next-generation sequencing is that it’s even a more powerful method of doing gene-expression analysis,” Coffman said. “The technical challenge we have now is completely different than it was five years ago. We no longer have a problem getting lots of information. Now the issue is, how do you analyze that information?” “Next-generation technologies present a significant challenge with the volume and refinement of data required for analysis,” explained Geospiza CSO Todd Smith. “Primary data from the instrument is unusable without further manipulations such as alignment of the data to reference sequences followed by extensive post processing of the alignments to view and compare information between experiments. GeneSifter efficiently manages this intermediate step by automating these processes. We appreciate the opportunity to support Dr. Coffman and his team to explore the statistical significance of the data to discover factors of biological relevance.” “Geospiza was the natural choice for data analysis software, with over a decade of experience working with sequencing technology,” adds Tony Robertson, Ph.D., a senior research associate in Coffman’s lab, “Geospiza can render data into a form so we can ask biological questions of it. They’re a great company to do business with – really easy and really quick.” About Geospiza For more information, contact: |
Super Computing 09 and BioHDF |
