India’s genomics laboratory Nucleome collaborates with the VGP

Hyderabad, India. India’s renowned genomics and bioinformatics research company, Nucleome Informatics Pvt Ltd, announced its collaboration with the Vertebrate Genomes Project, commonly known as VGP. The VGP, started in 2017, is a project of the G10K, which was founded in April 2009. The goal of the VGP is to produce at least one high-quality genome assembly of each of all 70,000 vertebrate species on the planet.

The G10K governing council, trustees, and working committees partner with scientific communities and represent over 150 members in over 50 institutions; this consortium has built an infrastructure from sample collection to genome sequencing, assembly, annotation, alignments, public data releases, and analyses for publication.

There was no research partner from India so far to sequence and assemble genomes of vertebrate species relevant to the Indian subcontinent. Nucleome will be a partner laboratory of VGP in India to do the sample preparation, library preparation, sequencing and analysis using VGP protocols and analyses pipelines. Lately, Nucleome procured South Asia’s first long-read genome sequencer, a PacBio Sequel II, which will be used to sequence the vertebrate genomes. The VGP Chair, Erich Jarvis (Professor at the Rockefeller University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute), said will coordinate with Nucleome as a VGP partner, embracing the mission of producing the highest quality genome assemblies possible. He and the VGP will work with Nucleome’s CEO Dushyant Singh Baghel, and provide support to understand the genomic diversity of India’s animal species.

Mr Dushyant Singh Baghel, CEO, Nucleome Informatics shared the news and said, ‘Extremely excited. We have been following VGP protocols and data analyses pipelines routinely for sequencing and analysing genomes. This association with VGP will certainly improve India’s participation in building high-quality genomes and during the process, young researchers working at Nucleome and our Indian research partners laboratories will highly benefit from the experience of the VGP leading experts including Erich Jarvis (Chair-VGP), Adam Phillippy (Chair-Genome Assembly), Michael Schatz (John Hopkins University), Oliver Ryder (Chair Conservation), Klaus-Peter Koepfli (Smithsonian Institution), Gene Myers (Max Plank Institute), Richard Durbin (University of Cambridge and Sanger Institute) and Kerstin Howe (Sanger Institute).’

Lately, Nucleome completed a Water buffalo genome with the National Dairy Development Board, and a Great Indian bustard genome with the Wildlife Institute of India, using the protocols and pipelines published by VGP. With the availability of sequencing and analysis facility in Hyderabad, scientists in India can sequence the VGP quality genomes in India.

PHASE 1 OF THE VGP WILL GENERATE NEAR ERROR-FREE REFERENCE GENOMES OF 260 SPECIES REPRESENTING ALL VERTEBRATE ORDERS WITH A DIVERGENCE TIME OF ~50 MILLION YEARS AGO (MYA) OR GREATER FROM THEIR MOST RECENT COMMON ORDINAL ANCESTOR, INCLUDING HUMAN AND SOME SPECIES ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION. VGP WILL SEQUENCE THE HETEROGAMETIC SEX (WHEN IT EXISTS) SO THAT BOTH SEX CHROMOSOMES CAN BE ASSEMBLED FOR EACH SPECIES.

About VGP: The Vertebrate Genomes Project is a project of the G10K Consortium, and it aims to generate near error-free reference genome assemblies of all ~70,000 extant vertebrate species. The VGP Species List details of Phase 1 species progress and the full list of the greater than70,000 extant, vertebrate species. More information about the VGP can be found at https://vertebrategenomesproject.org

About Nucleome: Nucleome Informatics is India’s fastest growing genomics and Bioinformatics company based at Hyderabad. It is DSIR approved genomics laboratory working on sequencing and analysing genomes. More information about Nucleome can be found at www.nucleomeinfo.com.

PRESS RELEASE, 4TH AUGUST 2020