Developer and seller of microfluidic systems, Fluidigm Corp (FLDM) recently announced a new single-cell application for its C1 system, which improves whole genome sequencing of individual cells.
Whole genome sequencing is a laboratory process used to determine the complete DNA sequence of an organism's genome at a single time. The new application will empower cancer researchers to predict cancer susceptibility, metastasis, and therapeutic efficacy by discovering and defining specific mutation profiles in complex cell populations.
Fluidigm’s new C1 application equips researchers with a comprehensive and reliable single-cell workflow to identify mutations in both regulatory and protein-coding regions of the genome. This enables them to discover genetic signatures and define clonal architecture within heterogeneous cell populations.
It is essentially impossible for researchers to understand the distribution of mutations, rearrangements and copy number changes among cells through bulk sequencing. By making single-cell DNA sequencing accessible, Fluidigm intends to usher in a whole new phase of discovery in single-cell biology.
Last month, Fluidigm announced a new workflow that will facilitate high throughput single-cell mRNA sequencing at a lower cost. The high throughput workflow is enabled on the Fluidigm C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep System, which aids researchers in isolating, processing and profiling individual cells. The full commercial version of the workflow is expected to be available in the first half of 2015.
With the release of Fluidigm’s latest single-cell application, the company now holds a complete suite of sequencing protocols that enable researchers to easily pursue whole genome, whole exome and targeted sequencing from an individual cell.
Moreover, Fluidigm recently entered into a formal collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), to accelerate the development of new methods for analysis of single-cell genomics data.
In addition to technology advancements, the collaboration will make single-cell research more accessible to the greater research community by developing and disseminating new workflows, bioinformatics tools and data sets.
We believe that Fluidigm has strong growth opportunities across both production genomics and single-cell genomics applications. This will enhance its competitive position against the likes of Affymetrix (AFFX), Illumina (ILMN) and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO).
Currently, Fluidigm sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment