Monthly Archives: May 2013

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The genomes of two of the most economically important forest trees in the world were released by Canadian and Swedish scientists. In Canada, the conifers supply raw materials for the forest industry, accounting for $23.7 billion of the nations economy in 2011, while the gross output of the Swedish forest industry was $29.7 billion in 2009.

Between them, the white spruce and the Norway spruce genomes have 20-30 billion base-pairs and are up to 10 times larger than the human genome, making these sequence assemblies the largest to date.

THE WHITE SPRUCE

A group of Canadian scientists, led by Professor Steven Jones, Head of Bioinformatics at the BC Cancer Agency Genome Sciences Centre (BCGSC) and a professor at both the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU), sequenced the white spruce genome as part of the SMarTForests Project.

SMarTForests builds upon previous discoveries of the past decade to break new ground in spruce genome sequencing in order to represent Canada in international conifer genome initiatives and to achieve efficient translation of results toward end-users from across Canada.

Attempting the sequencing of such a large genome was an incredibly ambitious task and required the development of novel software and innovative use of DNA sequence technology to piece together short DNA sequences to form this massive genome, much like a large jigsaw puzzle, said Jones. The findings of this study were published in the journal Bioinformatics.

Many projects are now attempting to decipher genomes of economically important plants, Inanc Birol, a scientist with BCGSC and a professor with both UBC and SFU, said in a statement. We demonstrated a superior and less expensive method to do the job.

These genome sequences allow us to develop innovative tools for tree breeding, addressing economically and ecologically important targets such as insect resistance, wood quality, growth rates and adaptation to changing climate added UBC Prof. Joerg Bohlmann, a collaborator on both studies.

A genome-based marker system could serve to reduce the time of a spruce breeding cycle from currently 25 to as short as five years, and will contribute directly to the competitiveness of the Canadian and Scandinavian forest industry, said Prof. John MacKay of Universit Laval, who also participated in both studies.

More:
Researchers Map Genome Of Two Important Spruce Tree Species

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5b54vr/us_personalized) has announced the addition of the "US Personalized Cancer Genome Sequencing Market" report to their offering.

The US personalized cancer Genome Sequencing market is primarily classified into Targeted Genome Sequencing and Whole-Genome Sequencing. Our report entitled US Personalized Cancer Genome Sequencing Market takes into account the Whole-Genome Sequencing services, which is one of the most attractive sectors due to its inherent capability of high revenue generation and efficiency in terms of personalized treatment.

In order to properly analyze the virtues and significance of the US personalized cancer Whole-Genome Sequencing market, our report has effectively studied the current and future status of cancer in the US as well as its States. In view of the fact that cancer affects some specific age groups in a significant manner, we have also investigated the age-wise statistics of the disease. To get proper insight into the market, an in-depth analysis into the high-income group population is provided so that players can have a clear picture about their potential customer base and the market to be tapped.

The WGS industry has evolved in US in the recent times, and the level and seriousness of implementation has seen drastic changes. An in-depth study of the regulatory environment governing the US personalized cancer Whole-Genome Sequencing market has also been provided. It has been found that regulations related to personalized cancer sequencing are primarily governed with the accreditation of the laboratories performing the sequencing services and analysis, and also the usage of FDA approved tests for conducting these tests. Further, we have also discussed the various constraints faced by the industry players with suitable suggestions to overcome them.

The report analyzes the competitive landscape in the market by properly analyzing the business, services and activities of the companies. It also provides the competitive benchmarking, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of each player. Overall, the report is a complete source of knowledge and statistics for the clients who want to get an in-depth understanding of the market.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Analyst View

2. Research Methodology

3. Cancer Statistics by Demographics

See more here:
Research and Markets: US Personalized Cancer Genome Sequencing Market Report: 2013 Edition