Spekboom is a popular topic

Our Spekboom sequencing project has now also sparked interest from the popular press! Journalist Engela Duvenhage recently published an article on our endeavours in the AA Traveller magazine (AA Reisiger in Afrikaans). Thank you for sharing our story with travellers and nature lovers, Engela! The article can be read online …

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First Spekboom Assembly using High Accuracy Basecalling done!

After a very successful visit from our UK project collaborators, Drs. Steurnagel and Wouters, Ms Shannon Derman jetted off to the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, to learn more about the bioinformatics analysis of the Spekboom sequencing data that we generated here during the two weeks’ visit in October. …

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Our Story Told

We are excited to be featured in the November edition of SA Grain magazine! CenGen has grown exponentially over the past few years, and with our 20 year anniversary approaching in 2023, we are very proud of what we have achieved. Thank you to SA Grain for sharing our story …

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Touching base: a brief Spekboom project update

After ten days of intense learning and knowledge transfer, we presented an update on the progress of the Spekboom project. The Centre for Proteomics and Genomics Research (CPGR) hosted us at their brand-new facilities in Woodstock, Cape Town. Dr Renée Prins gave a brief project overview, followed by Drs Roland …

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Spekboom Base Camp established!

Dr Burkhard Steuernagel joined us this week to start with the data analysis of the ONT sequencing runs. Whilst some team members are continuing to extract bucket-loads of HMW gDNA, the rest of the team kicked off with high-accuracy base calling. Pictured above are Burkhard, Roland Wouters, Kelly Breeds and Elsabet Wessels. What …

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Sharing our science at the Napier Syngenta Knowledge Hub

Cover picture: Pieter Burger, Syngenta For two days in September this year, the normally (seemingly) peaceful Syngenta/Sensako research station at Napier was transformed to a bustling scene of demonstrations, talks, knowledge transfer and liaising at the inaugural Syngenta Knowledge Hub event. Producers and other stakeholders in the agricultural industry were …

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Bridging Gaps by Sharing Knowledge and Instruments

Read some more on how we collaborate to get the Spekboom job done here! On the cover picture: Alana Crotz and Shannon Derman (CenGen) with Alvera Vorster from CAF and Roland Wouters from JIC discussing High Molecular Weight DNA extraction protocols.

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We have liftoff! First Spekboom Sequencing Runs on African Soil!

CenGen has a long-standing link to scientists at John Innes Centre, UK. Dr Burkhard Steuernagel has shared his experience on the bioinformatics analysis of the complex wheat genome with SA plant scientists multiple times. He has now sent a research scientist from his group, Dr Roland Wouters, to support the …

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CenGen helps with some tough DNA extractions

Cover picture: The regionally endangered Cape dwarf-eelgrass (Zostera capensis) in Knysna. Credit: Katie Watson Knowledge transfer has always been a vital part of CenGen’s work ethos. Recently, Ms Katie Watson, PhD Candidate at Stellenbosch University’s Botany and Zoology Department, reached out to us for assistance in extracting High Molecular Weight …

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We’re sequencing Spekboom!

September saw the beginning of an exciting new project at CenGen! Also read more about it here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6975414006379347968/

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