seqWell Announces LongPlex Long Fragment Multiplexing Kit Launch to Address Workflow Challenges in Long-Read Sequencing

seqWell is designated as a PacBio Compatible Partner with novel tagmentation-based workflow that improves throughput and scalability of long read assays.

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--seqWell, a leading global provider of genomic library and multiplexing solutions, today announced the full commercial launch of its LongPlex™ Long Fragment Multiplexing Kit, a first-in-class tagmentation product designed to address the scalability and multiplexing challenges of long-read sequencing library preparation workflows. In addition, the company has also announced its designation as a member of PacBio Compatible in coordination with PacBio, a leading developer of high-quality, highly accurate sequencing solutions.

seqWell’s LongPlex workflow provides for plate-based, highly scalable DNA fragmentation and sample indexing that expands multiplexing capabilities when utilized in conjunction with PacBio SMRTbell prep kit 3.0 library preparation. Building on the company’s expertise in transposase-based library technology, the LongPlex solution enables rapid generation and pooling of barcoded DNA fragments, significantly improving the scalability of a variety of sequencing assays on long-read sequencing systems such as the PacBio Revio™ and Sequel II®.

“The ability to multiplex and pool samples upstream of the PacBio SMRTbell library preparation and sequence a larger number of samples per SMRT flow cell brought the cost per sample down near that for short read sequencing. That has changed the equation for us,” said Dan Snyder, Director at the commercial sequencing services provider SeqCenter. “We can now gain the benefits of long-read sequencing for higher throughput projects that we previously would have deferred to short read sequencing based on economics. We were also thrilled during our evaluation to find that LongPlex could rescue the sequencing of difficult samples such as yeast, that we couldn’t previously do.”

“Library workflows have been a major bottleneck in our high throughput long-read sequencing efforts, including low pass long read sequencing (LPLRS),” said Josh Clevenger, Co-founder of Veil Genomics, a HudsonAlpha associated company. “The ease of DNA fragmentation and multiplexing capabilities of LongPlex have dramatically improved our ability to perform population-scale genotyping in plants and animals. Economically viable LPLRS opens a new world of genomic discoveries that just weren’t there with short read sequencing and microarrays.”

“It’s been incredible to see what our initial group of cutting-edge LongPlex users has been able to accomplish using PacBio HiFi sequencing when they have the ability to rapidly and consistently fragment and index DNA for challenging long read applications” said Joe Mellor, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at seqWell. “The LongPlex kit is helping scientists tackle at scale problems ranging from microbial whole genome sequencing and metagenomic studies, to low pass long-read sequencing and targeted hybrid capture.”

“LongPlex is a great example of PacBio Compatible where PacBio systems and industry-leading products come together to more effectively advance long-read sequencing,” said Amit Patel, Senior Director of Product Marketing at PacBio. He added, “in this case, LongPlex seamlessly integrates upstream of our SMRTbell library preparation workflow, enabling our users to fully realize the scalability and throughput of their PacBio long-read sequencing systems without sacrificing data quality.”

seqWell will be hosting a virtual LongPlex Launch Celebration event on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 beginning at 8:30 am PDT/11:30 am EDT/16:30 CET. Scientists from SeqCenter, Veil Genomics (a HudsonAlpha associate company) and Arizona Genomics Institute will present data generated using LongPlex for plant and animal variant detection using low pass long-read sequencing, long-read sequencing of difficult bacteria and yeast samples as well as complex eukaryotes and metagenomic studies. To view the agenda or register for the event, please visit: bit.ly/longplex_launch

About seqWell - seqWell creates scalable genomics technologies that simplify workflows and help scientists to unlock transformative discoveries with sequencing. seqWell technology is focused on a novel, next-generation transposase, TnX™, to drive the high-performance needs of tagmentation and advance NGS. seqWell offers a range of library prep products and fragmentation workflows that allow customers to quickly and easily scale their short- and long-read sequencing initiatives. Learn more at www.seqwell.com or follow us on Linkedin.