Dovetail Genomics Announces Opening of Beta Program

Dovetail Genomics LLC has begun accepting applications to its beta program for a planned metagenomic genome assembly service. Richard Green, Dovetail’s co-founder, presented the company’s metagenomic genome assembly method in a talk on February 12, at the 2016 Advances in Genome Biology & Technology conference in Orlando, FL.

The human microbiome has been dubbed “the second genome” due to its essential role in human health. However, culture-free, high-quality de novo assembly of these highly complex datasets is difficult. Using its proprietary Chicago Method and a modified version of the HiRise Assembly Pipeline, Green and colleagues have developed a fast and efficient method for scaffolding microbial genomes using short-read sequence data from complex, metagenomic datasets.

“Our results show clearly that we can quickly and accurately assemble whole microbial genomes using samples derived directly from complex metagenomic communities,” said Green. “We are excited to move forward with a beta program so we can put our method to the test with a wide variety of human and environmental metagenomic samples.”

“Expansion of our Chicago Method into the field of metagenomics is a significant milestone for Dovetail,” said Dovetail CEO Todd Dickinson. “It is becoming increasingly clear that our microbiomes play a critical role in our health, but the tools for fully characterizing these microbiomes remain limited. In collaboration with beta sites, we hope to demonstrate how our approach can provide clinicians and researchers a fundamental understanding of the human microbiome and its role in human health and disease.”

Dovetail anticipates broad commercial launch of its metagenomic assembly service around mid year. Researchers interested in applying for the beta program should contact Dovetail Genomics by emailing info@dovetail-genomics.com.