Long-read sequencing technologies have revolutionized the field of genomics in recent years. These advances have opened up new avenues for biological discovery and drug development, enabling scientists to identify novel drug targets and develop personalized therapies. Diamond Age Data Science has successfully completed several client projects involving long read sequencing in a variety of applications and we are looking forward to future advancements in the field.
Long-read sequencing’s advantages allow researchers to interrogate the genome and transcriptome in new ways. Long reads are often used in the assembly of genomes and to discover variations and events that may be relevant to human health. Specifically, long-read sequencing does a better job than short read at identifying complex genomic events, such as structural variations, alternative splice isoforms, post-transcriptional modifications, gene fusions, and haplotype phasing. Being able to identify these events can unlock biological questions and move drug discovery and development forward in the following ways:
- Finding novel drug targets
- Characterization of drug resistance mechanisms
- Development of personalized therapies
- Acceleration of Mechanism of Action elucidation
However, long-read sequencing doesn’t come without challenges. High cost, long run times, and requirement of quality DNA might not make it the right assay for every application. Additionally, the large datasets that it produces require specialized tools and compute environments, as well as experienced computational biologists to produce and interpret the outputs.
As the technology continues to improve, it is expected to play an increasingly important role in drug discovery and transform the field of precision medicine.
If you are planning a long-read sequencing experiment and need a partner for analysis, please reach out to Diamond Age Data Science to talk with one of our scientists.