{"id":187728,"date":"2025-06-16T01:17:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T01:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/187728\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T01:17:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T01:17:22","slug":"next-generation-sequencing-tracks-down-genetic-mutations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/187728\/","title":{"rendered":"Next-Generation Sequencing tracks down genetic mutations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\"A<\/a>Jessica Henley, NGS Core Coordinator, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (CSU photo)<\/p>\n

Armed with a machine that looks a little like R2-D2, Jessica Henley hunts down the tiniest of bad guys. She runs CSU\u2019s Next-Generation Sequencing core, which uses Illumina sequencers to identify genetic changes that cause disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing a little bit of pathogen hunting to find that needle in a haystack, to try to see what is causing the illness,\u201d says Henley, the genomics core coordinator<\/a> who uses the Illumina MiSeq and NextSeq 2000<\/a> instruments to read nitrogenous bases in DNA and RNA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis helps us understand what is encoded in the genetic material for an organism or group of organisms. This can be helpful for a lot of things,\u201d she said. \u201cFor example, there\u2019s a large group of CSU microbiology researchers looking at things that can\u2019t be cultured, so the only way we can identify what\u2019s there is by reading the DNA and figuring out what might be growing in the environment we\u2019re looking at. If all the laboratory tests have not popped a positive and we\u2019re not sure what is causing an illness, there are methods using sequencing to see what kind of genes are being activated.\u201d<\/p>\n

This information impacts public health by allowing researchers to \u201cput measures in place to try to control spread of disease,\u201d Henley said. \u201cOr even just the fact that we can sequence an entire genome so much more quickly now can lead to advances in vaccine development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located in the CSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory<\/a> on South Campus, the Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) core added two new Illumina instruments about 10 years ago, under the direction of Mark Stenglein, Ph.D.<\/a>, and Christie Mayo, D.V.M., Ph.D.<\/a>, through an initiative of the CSU Office of the Vice President for Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Henley came to CSU last year from CU Boulder, where she spent 14 years at an environmental microbiology lab that used sequencing to study microbial communities. \u201cOnce I heard that CSU was going to reinvent their sequencing core and was looking for a core coordinator, I was excited to move up here,\u201d Henley said. She plans to add a full-time research associate and is working on adding RNA sample preparation components to the core\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really important for folks to know that this technology is really fast moving,\u201d Henley said. \u201cI started using sequencing techniques back in 2010 on a completely different type of sequencer using a completely different technology. It\u2019s now completely obsolete.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Dr. Christie Mayo (CVMBS photo)<\/p>\n

In the nearly 25 years since the Human Genome Project <\/a>unlocked our genetic code, scientists have used sequencing to understand changes in DNA. Next-Generation Sequencing refers to faster and cheaper technologies that became available after that project was completed using the first-generation method of Sanger sequencing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just constant development to expand the use and to lower the cost,\u201d Henley said. \u201cSo even if a project people had dreamed up a few years ago was not possible, I would encourage them not to forget about it because you never know when new tools or new sequencing capabilities or lowering costs will make those kinds of projects completely within reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Putting sequencing within reach for researchers is core to the NGS core. \u201cWe are fitting into this niche where we\u2019re working with projects that are very new, trying new things. Maybe the samples aren\u2019t great quality. Maybe a student is trying to understand how to use this technology in the best possible way for their research, and so they need a little bit more consultation time or some question\/answer time. So we\u2019re unique in that regard,\u201d said Henley, who offers workshops and seminars to users.<\/p>\n

Next-level vision
\n\"The<\/a>The Next-Generation Sequencing core uses the Illumina NextSeq 2000 to read genetic samples. (CVMBS photo)<\/p>\n

\u201cJessica is bringing in new ideas, new light, new vision to the core,\u201d Mayo said. \u201cShe\u2019s taking it to a different level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers can see that new level in action at the National Animal Health Laboratory Network Next-Generation Sequencing Symposia at CSU<\/a> in July. The hands-on workshop will offer training in sequencing and bioinformatics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s connecting researchers here on campus with the things that are available for what they\u2019re trying to accomplish. People on campus have been asking for this type of thing, so I think it\u2019ll be a really great experience for researchers,\u201d Henley said. \u201cIt\u2019s completely free for them and they can actually bring their samples and learn how to do this technique with their samples. We sequence them. They get the data, we take them through how to analyze it, so they\u2019re going through the entire workflow, learning with samples they care about.\u201d<\/p>\n

This workshop will aid in infectious disease diagnostics and inform outbreak responses in the animal health laboratory setting, and has a national impact, said Mayo. \u201cYou can really do this educational component hands-on with Illumina reps. It\u2019s very integrative. Jessica\u2019s idea for this workshop brings sequencing to a different community for the national Animal Health Laboratory Network.\u201d<\/p>\n

The core serves the CSU community and beyond, with USDA contracts and interest from local industry and the National Science Foundation. \u201cIt will be great to expand it to some of the other universities, especially in Colorado, that don\u2019t have their own sequencing core,\u201d Henley said. \u201cWe want to make sure that if any researcher wants to branch out into a new area or use this technology to complement their research, they have the resources available to them to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jessica Henley, NGS Core Coordinator, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (CSU photo) Armed with a machine that looks a little…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3846],"tags":[267,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-187728","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114690408401001698","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}