We are excited to celebrate another milestone at CenGen: The successful loading of our very first RNA flow cell on the Oxford Nanopore PromethION 2 Solo sequencer! This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we venture into plant transcriptomics and gene annotation.
Petruné Reitsma, who joined our team as a Research Scientist in April this year, is taking the lead on developing our high molecular weight RNA extraction and Direct RNA Sequencing workflows, thereby helping to establish a completely new capability for both CenGen and the wider DIPLOMICS network.
The first plant loaded is the Coastal Coral Tree (Erythrina afra) that was sequenced in the 1KSA project earlier this year. It is known for its medicinal properties and beautiful display of orange-red flowers during winter and spring.
This new capacity will support future plant genome projects, including the 1KSA initiative, while creating opportunities to train researchers and transfer these skills to other DIPLOMICS partner laboratories across South Africa. A huge thank you to DIPLOMICS for making this possible through their continued support and investment. We’re looking forward to seeing where this journey takes us!
© W Fraser
