New technology aims to enhance biomarker discovery in oncology research

Takara Bio Europe, a subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., has unveiled the Shasta™ Single-Cell System at the 2024 Human Cell Atlas General Meeting in Milan, Italy. This new high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform is designed to facilitate novel biomarker discovery in oncology research by combining validated chemistries with user-friendly bioinformatics tools.

Enhanced throughput and detection capabilities

The Shasta system, along with its accompanying Whole-Genome Amplification (WGA) Kit, offers a significant increase in throughput for WGA, processing up to 1,500 cells per run compared to the current limit of 384 single cells. This advancement enables the detection of single-cell level copy number variation (CNV) events via shallow sequencing.

Additionally, the Shasta Total RNA-Seq Kit allows for high-throughput single-cell total RNA profiling with full gene body coverage of up to 100,000 cells per run. This kit can detect various RNA biotypes, including non-polyadenylated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are often missed by current droplet-based technologies.

Implications for oncology research

Dr Matthieu Pesant, Senior Market Strategy Manager for Translational Genomics at Takara Bio Europe, commented on the system’s potential: “We have entered a new era in single-cell analysis, where Shasta technologies overcome previous limitations, enabling detection of critical events such as splicing isoforms, gene fusions, lncRNAs, and segmental CNVs. By enabling true biomarker discovery at scale, we are providing researchers with the confidence and capability to achieve insights that were previously out of reach.”

The company says that this new system represents a significant improvement over traditional plate-based full-length RNA-seq and high-throughput mRNA-seq methods, potentially reducing both time and costs
for researchers.

For more information, visit: www.takarabio.com

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