Most Powerful Sequencer to Date

SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MGI, a subsidiary of BGI Group, introduced its newest model of genetic sequencer, MGISEQ-T7, which vastly improves speed, throughput and flexibility, at the 13th International Conference on Genomics (ICG-13) in Shenzhen. The most powerful MGI sequencer to date, MGISEQ-T7 is built with innovative quadruple flow-cell staging that allows simultaneous but independent operation of 1 to 4 flow cells in a single run. The MGI proprietary technology used in T7 delivers higher accuracy and improves efficiency through upgrades to the flow cell, fluid, and biochemical and optical system. A supercomputer for the life science industry, MGISEQ-T7 takes the production capacity of the sequencer to a new level with daily output of data up to 6Tb.

"Now customers have complete flexibility for a wide range of sequencing, at the same time, all in one machine," said MGI CEO Feng Mu.

The MGISEQ-T7's innovations include:

Unique Quad-Flowcell Platform, supporting independent operation of 1-4 chips
A revolutionary quad-flow cell platform enables multiple flow cells with different read lengths and applications to be processed independently at any time in a single run. The platform supports whole genome sequencing, ultra-depth exome sequencing, epigenome sequencing, and large-panel tumor gene detection.

Sequencing speed increased by over 50%
MGISEQ-T7 runs much faster than any other sequencer to date. PE150 takes less than 24 hours at full load to complete.

Single chip density increased by 20%
MGISEQ-T7's chip density is increased by 20%. Terabyte-level data can be produced with a single chip.

Partners and customers around the world who have been using the MGI platform have recognized its distinct advantages, including researchers from RIKEN, the Mayo Clinic, the Karolinska Institutet, Curetis and Weill Cornell Medicine.

"MGI is the first company that can achieve affordable and essentially error-free genome sequencing," said Dr. George Church, Professor of Genetics, and Health Sciences and Technology of Harvard and MIT.

The ultra-fast, ultra-high-throughput MGISEQ-T7 can complete WGS for up to 60 human genomes in a single day, breaking barriers for what a next generation sequencer can do. MGISEQ-T7 accelerates the development of nationwide genomics projects, since a T7 can complete the sequencing of 10,000 genomes within a year.

BGI Group President Jian Wang said such research will benefit human beings everywhere. "The mission of MGI is to help people live better and healthier lives."

SOURCE BGI