Agilent Technologies has released SureSelect Human All Exon V8 – a new exome design that provides comprehensive content and up-to-date coverage of protein-coding regions from RefSeq, CCDS, and GENCODE. It also covers the TERT promoter and hard-to-capture exons that are omitted by other exomes on the market. The new design is available in three options – routine exome sequencing (Exome v8), clinical research sequencing (v8 Clinical Plus), and translational research (v8 UTR Plus) – allowing for content flexibility to meet our customer’s needs.

Powered by machine learning-based probe design and an improved probe-printing process, the SureSelect Human All Exon V8 spans a 35.1 Mb target region of the human genome, with an efficient end-to-end design size of only 41.6 Mb. The panel delivers excellent enrichment performance for more uniform coverage, as well as efficient and cost-effective exome sequencing.

Kevin Meldrum, vice president, and general manager for Agilent’s Genomics Division, commented: “The SureSelect exome has been widely adopted in both clinical and translational research, and it has played an important role in shaping the rise of exome sequencing as a routine genomics technique,” he said. “The SureSelect Human All Exon V8 provides best-in-class enrichment performance and sequencing efficiency, and it shows our commitment to exceed customer expectations and continue our legacy as the benchmark exome to the genomics community.”

This new exome design is already delivering promising results in genetics by supporting virtual analysis of targeted genes important in germline investigations through seamless integration with Alissa Interpret for variant interpretation and reporting. In cancer, exome sequencing is commonly used to identify mutations that contribute to tumour progression, and the sequencing efficiency and coverage achieved with this new design will enable customers to get more out of each exome capture than ever before to identify critical genomic targets. In addition, large-scale manufacturing ensures the panel will provide consistent results for many years, another critical need in clinical research laboratories.

These new Exome designs can be automated on the Bravo automated liquid handling platform for high throughput applications and the Magnis NGS Prep System for complete, walkaway automation. The complete, pushbutton automation provided by the Magnis system will allow laboratories to efficiently deploy exome sequencing while reducing labour and operational expenses.