The UMGC’s newest sequencing instrument, the UG 100 from Ultima Genomics, is an ultra-high throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) instrument purpose-built for the most sequencing-hungry applications. Radical cost reduction is at the core of its design, a system architecture that reflects the UG 100’s Silicon Valley roots. The bottom line: innovative hardware and chemistries enable human genome sequencing for $100 in raw sequencing reagent cost.
Technology
The UG 100 replaces a traditional flow cell with a massive, open-to-the-elements, flat circular silicon wafer (the foundational material of the semiconductor industry). During sequencing operation, this disk spins – like a CD or disk drive – enabling reagent dispensing (“spin-coating”) and continuous data acquisition from two fixed-position cameras. This inversion of the standard architecture – a moving wafer substrate, with fixed cameras as opposed to a fixed flow cell substrate, with moving cameras – accelerates sequencing and throughput. A ≥ 300-base median-length run is completed in roughly 20 hours.
The UG 100’s chemistry is also a departure from common single-base extension methods. Sequencing read-out is “flow-based”: only one type of nucleotide substrate is introduced per data capture cycle (a “flow”), thereby reducing errors by eliminating the need for base-calling. Because the UG 100 employs flow-based read-out, resulting read lengths are a distribution, with a median length of ≥ 300 bases (≈ 250 bases, post-filtering). With yields of 10-12 billion reads per wafer, this translates to ≥ 2.5-3.0 terabases of high-quality data per run.
A more complete discussion of the technology behind the UG 100 can be found on Ultima’s website and also in the foundational paper describing the technology.
Applications
The UG 100 is best suited to applications that require 10-12 billion reads at a time, or more. The UMGC has exhaustively validated our instrument’s performance by sequencing ≈ 1,000 human whole genomes at 30X depth. We currently offer research-grade WGS for any organism, including variant calling using Google DeepVariant and GATK. Interested researchers are encouraged to contact us regarding any of these other applications:
- Paired plus-minus sequencing (ppmSeq) for rare event detection
- Minimal residual disease detection
- Analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)
- Ultra-deep metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing
- Model organism and cell line sequencing for quality control
- DNA methylation sequencing via WGBS or RRBS
- Ultra high-depth single-cell sequencing (10X Genomics, Parse, Scale)
Output (Official Ultima Genomics Specifications)
ppmSeq
The UG 100’s emulsion-PCR base library creation also enables a radical increase in accuracy, via a sequencing mode called Paired Plus Minus Sequencing (ppmSeq), which provides a raw read accuracy of one part per million (Q60). By jointly amplifying both strands of the native input DNA, and then eliminating mixed signals, ppmSeq eliminates noise and enables the detection of events that occur at a frequency above 1-in-a-million. Details can be found at Ultima’s website.
Start a Project
The UMGC is a Certified Service Provider for the UG 100 system, one of a few select labs worldwide, and the only academic facility with this distinction. This certification reflects our commitment to excellence in sequencing services and expertise in deploying cutting-edge genomic technologies. If you are interested in getting started on the UG 100, please contact us at [email protected].
UMN Rates
| Library Creation | Scale Tier | Savings Tier | Speed Tier | Priority Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCR-Free whole genome.1 | $44.37 | $48.21 | $66.82 | $107.85 |
| Volume. | 24 - any samples | 8 - 192 samples | 4 - 96 samples | 4 - 48 samples |
| Turnaround time. | N/A | 13 - 24 days | 8 - 14 days | 5 - 6 days |
| Library conversion.2 | $69.65 | $104.72 | $151.88 | $222.75 |
| Volume. | 9 - any samples | 1 - 16 samples | 1 - 8 samples | 1 - 4 samples |
| Turnaround time. | N/A | 8 - 12 days | 5 - 7 days | 3 - 5 days |
| Sequencing | Scale Tier | Savings Tier | Speed Tier | Priority Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per wafer. 10–12 B reads. | $2,589.22 | $2,701.64 | $2,926.49 | $3,151.34 |
| Volume. | 10 - any wafers | 1 - 20 wafers | 1 - 10 wafers | 1 - 4 wafers |
| Turnaround time. | N/A | 7 - 30 days | 7 - 15 days | 5 - 10 days |
| Cost/Gb 30X WGS.3 | $38.84 | $40.52 | $43.90 | $47.27 |
Notes
1. Contact us for other applications (i.e., single-cell, ppmSeq, ultra-deep metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing, etc).
2. Conversion of non-Ultima libraries for UG 100 compatibility.
3. To calculate the cost per sample for a genome of size x (in Gb), multiply these prices by the value of x. For example, for a ≈ 3.3-Gb human genome, the cost for 30X coverage for the "Scale" tier comes to 3.3 x $38.84 = $128.17. Note that this price does not include library creation.
Tiers: Turnaround time (TAT) is in business days. TAT is for sequencing only and does not factor in the TAT for library prep or other companion services. Availability for the Priority Tier is limited; contact [email protected] to see if this is a current option. More information about Pricing Tiers.
External Rates
| Library Creation | Scale Tier | Savings Tier | Speed Tier | Priority Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCR-Free whole genome.1 | $59.55 | $63.96 | $86.11 | $133.71 |
| Volume. | 24 - any samples | 8 - 192 samples | 4 - 96 samples | 4 - 48 samples |
| Turnaround time. | N/A | 13 - 24 days | 8 - 14 days | 5 - 6 days |
| Library conversion.2 | $86.03 | $121.33 | $169.21 | $242.83 |
| Volume. | 9 - any samples | 1 - 16 samples | 1 - 8 samples | 1 - 4 samples |
| Turnaround time. | N/A | 8 - 12 days | 5 - 7 days | 3 - 5 days |
| Sequencing | Scale Tier | Savings Tier | Speed Tier | Priority Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per wafer. 10–12 B reads. | $2,975.15 | $3,104.36 | $3,368.33 | $3,627.19 |
| Volume. | 10 - any wafers | 1 - 20 wafers | 1 - 10 wafers | 1 - 4 wafers |
| Turnaround time. | N/A | 7 - 30 days | 7 - 15 days | 5 - 10 days |
| Cost/Gb 30X WGS.3 | $44.63 | $46.57 | $50.52 | $54.41 |
Notes
1. Contact us for other applications (i.e., single-cell, ppmSeq, ultra-deep metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing, etc).
2. Conversion of non-Ultima libraries for UG 100 compatibility.
3. To calculate the cost per sample for a genome of size x (in Gb), multiply these prices by the value of x. For example, for a ≈ 3.3-Gb human genome, the cost for 30X coverage for the "Scale" tier comes to 3.3 x $38.84 = $128.17. Note that this price does not include library creation.
Tiers: Turnaround time (TAT) is in business days. TAT is for sequencing only and does not factor in the TAT for library prep or other companion services. Availability for the Priority Tier is limited; contact [email protected] to see if this is a current option. More information about Pricing Tiers.
Submission
How to order
Download the appropriate submission form for submitting samples or pre-made libraries. Once the form has been completed, please submit the submission by emailing [email protected].
Forms
NGS – Pre-made Library Submission Form
Samples can be dropped off at one of our campus locations
1-210 Cancer & Cardiovascular Research Building (Minneapolis campus)
20 Snyder Hall (St. Paul campus)
Samples can be shipped to the following address:
Please send the tracking information to [email protected].
UMN Genomics Center
ATTN: NGS Staff
3510 Hopkins Place N.
Building 4 Suite W402
Oakdale, MN 55128
612-625-7736
Deliverables
Data Release
There are four options for transferring data from the UMGC to clients: 1) delivery to the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute’s (MSI) high-performance file system, 2) download from a secure website, 3) download with Globus, or 4) shipment on an external hard drive. Please indicate your data delivery preference when placing an order for sequencing.
1. MSI storage
Internal clients have their data released to MSI's Shared User Resource Facility Storage (SURFS). Delivered data will be located in the "data_delivery" folder in your group's folder on MSI's primary filesystem (home/GROUP/data_delivery/umgc). MSI does not charge for SURFS storage costs, but files expire and are removed one year after they've been delivered. Files should be copied to other MSI storage locations such as Tier2, Tier3, or your group's "shared" folder before they expire.
2. Web download
Internal clients that opt-out of MSI storage and external clients can download their data from a secure website using either a web browser or a command-line download tool, complete instructions are provided in an email from the UMGC. The client’s data is available for download for 30 days, after which the data will be removed from the data download website and the client takes responsibility for storing the data.
3. Globus
Internal and External clients can use Globus to download their data. This is the recommended method for external clients to download large datasets.
4. Hard drive
External clients may have data shipped on a hard drive purchased by the UMGC and invoiced to the client at a cost of $250 per hard drive.
Data Recovery
The UMGC archives most customer data for a year and some datasets are retained for 5 years or more. If you need a dataset re-delivered email a request to [email protected] to initiate data recovery. The UMGC does not provide any guarantee that data can be successfully recovered from the archive.