September 9, 2019 -- Today the ultra-high-throughput genetic sequencer, DNBSEQ-T7, independently developed by Shenzhen's MGI Tech Co., Ltd. (MGI), was officially delivered to business partners. The first sequencers have arrived at the labs of partners such as WeGene. All indicators showed that T7 performed well.

As the highest throughput sequencer to date, DNBSEQ-T7 has achieved a number of breakthroughs: the first 4-chip sequencing platform, completing PE150 at full load within 24 hours, generating 6Tb of data per day, and completing up to 60 whole human genomes per day. The commercial delivery of T7 will help MGI lead the gene sequencing industry to further break through technical barriers of previous technologies, achieve better cost performance, and become an important force driving the development of the global genetic industry.

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of China's participation in the Human Genome Project. Scientists from six countries spent 13 years mapping the first human genome at a cost of nearly $3 billion. The cost of whole genome sequencing has fallen to less than $1,000 today, and the commercialization of DNBSEQ-T7 is expected to further reduce the cost of personal whole-genome sequencing to less than $500.

As it was officially put into commercial use, the T7 has also been renamed DNBSEQ-T7 from the initial MGISEQ-T7 name, in order to highlight MGI's unique DNBSEQ^TM sequencing technology. Starting from T7, MGI is changing the sequencer prefix from "MGISEQ" to "DNBSEQ", and the corresponding sequencing reagent names will be changed simultaneously.

DNBSEQ-T7

Higher throughput, higher speed -- accelerating progress of the human genome era

WeGene is the first customers of the DNBSEQ-T7 sequencer. Dr. Gao Qiang said, "The sequencers developed by MGI have achieved world-class performance in all aspects and have gradually taken the lead in industry technology development and standards development." Such advances in MGI's sequencing platform are based on its own core technology and leading R&D and innovation capabilities, he said. “The advanced equipment platform, combined with the growth of MGI technology in the genomics industry for many years, will provide more accurate, professional and fast services for experts and scholars engaged in the research and development of genomics science and technology."

Dr. Chen Gang, founder and CEO of WeGene said, "With personal genome and population genomics services as the core, WeGene is committed to promoting research and prevention of major diseases and accelerating the development of drugs and therapeutic methods through genomics and advanced technologies. With its ultra-high sequencing throughput and comprehensive automation capabilities, the DNBSEQ-T7 sequencer will be the core platform for WeGene's genomic data and the most important infrastructure for WeGene's development goals. 

DNBSEQ-T7 delivered to WeGene

In the genomics industry, the genetic sequencer serves as the starting point and provides the most basic support for the entire mid-stream and downstream sequencing services. Through continuous improvement in research and development strength, enterprises such as MGI have gradually broken the upstream market monopoly, providing greater choice for customers, and embodying the core of China's technological advancement and production capacity.

Jiang Hui, chief operating officer of MGI, said, “The cost of genomic sequencing is falling much faster than Moore’s law predictions, which helps the rapid development of cutting-edge genetic technology. The official delivery of T7 reflects the deep technological innovation capabilities of MGI’s upstream technology. With its ability to accumulate and innovate its leading products, MGI will fully support industry users to obtain higher quality, more cost-effective sequencing equipment and services, accelerate the progress of the human genome, and reshape the industry ecology."

The T7 made its debut at the 13th International Conference on Genomics (ICG-13) in 2018. Based on the unique sequencing technology DNBSEQ^TM, T7 has upgraded its chip, fluid, biochemical and optical systems to further improve sequencing efficiency. Whether it's a single chip operation or four chips running independently, the DNBSEQ-T7 maintains a powerful processing capability, and it takes less than 24 hours to complete PE150 sequencing. In addition, with a 20% increase in chip density, a single chip can achieve Tb-level data output, and can generate up to 6Tb of data per day, helping customers achieve powerful data output.

High data quality, flexible operation mode -- comprehensive service for many kinds of large-scale gene sequencing applications

DNBSEQ-T7 fully supports genome-wide sequencing, ultra-high-depth whole exome sequencing, epigenome sequencing, tumor large gene detection and other application scenarios.

Taking whole-genome sequencing as an example, the first sequencing data of DNBSEQ-T7 has performed well. This batch of sequencing data was generated using the MGIEasy PCR-free DNA library preparation kit and DNBSEQ-T7RS high-throughput sequencing reagent kit on a standard human cell line sample. The kit (PE100) was sequenced and the genome-wide data analysis was performed using MegaBOLT, a bioinformatics analysis acceleration software developed by MGI.

The SNP and Indel results of whole genome sequencing showed that the coverage of 20X was above 95%, the accuracy and sensitivity of SNP for mutation detection were over 99%, and the accuracy and sensitivity of Indel were above 98%.

In addition to its ultra-high throughput and high data quality, DNBSEQ-T7 also has more automation than previous products; it supports automatic cleaning and automatic recovery of sequencing slides, seamlessly linking to the next round of sequencing, and supporting running for a whole day. At the same time, as a corresponding device of DNBSEQ-T7, MGIDL-T7 can load prepared DNA nanoballs (DNBs) or reagents onto the chip and can load 1-2 chips in two hours.

 

In line with the ultra-high throughput of DNBSEQ-T7, MGI also provides complete pre-sequencing and post-sequencing analysis packages to support the continuous output of ultra-high throughput data. In this package, whether it is nucleic acid extraction, library preparation, or accelerated analysis of off-line data, the optional automation equipment is adapted to fully release the powerful data throughput of DNBSEQ-T7.

The milestone of the release of DNBSEQ-T7 demonstrates MGI's commitment to helping the global genetic sequencing industry to significantly reduce the cost of sequencing and enter the era of the $100 USD whole genome.