Roche and 454’s Genome Sequencer System use Woolly Mammoth Hair in Genome Sequencing

Roche and 454 Life Sciences today reported that researchers from Pennsylvania State University have used their Genome Sequencer™ system to sequence the entire mitochondrial genomes from 10 individual ancient woolly mammoths. The study, entitled "Whole-Genome Shotgun Sequencing of Mitochondria from Ancient Hair Shafts" appears online (ahead of print) today in the journal Science.

 The study describes a novel way to study the genomes of extinct animals: hair shafts provide an ideal source of ancient DNA. Typically, DNA sequencing from hair involves the hair root, which contains recognizable cells. In this new study, researchers portray the hair shaft as DNA encased in a biological kind of plastic, protected from damage and isolated from contaminants.

 “We can now look at an extinct organism and begin to assemble its genome which can provide insight into the species’ diversification and gives us a clue as to how adaptive the species may have been,” said Tim Harkins, co-author of “Whole-Genome Shotgun Sequencing of Mitochondria from Ancient Hair Shafts” and Roche Diagnostics marketing manager for sequencing in Indianapolis.   “This gets us closer to solving the mystery of why did the woolly mammoth become extinct, which helps build a framework today of understanding global warming and the loss of animal species. Understanding our past may enable us to better prepare for our future.”

The study demonstrates the efficacy of this new method by employing Roche and 454’s Genome Sequencing technology to sequence the entire mitochondria from 10 individual Woolly mammoths. Several of the hair samples investigated were up to 50,000 years old with one sample being stored in a Russian museum for 200 years at room temperature. To put this new study in perspective, only seven mitochondrial genomes from extinct animals had been previously published, four from ancient birds, two mammoths and one of the mastodon, a distant relative of mammoths.

 “The challenge with sequencing ancient DNA is finding an undamaged and uncontaminated sample, and having a sequencing technology that can produce long, highly accurate sequence reads affordably,” explained Stephan C. Schuster, PhD., senior author and Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Pennsylvania State University. “By combining our novel method for capturing ancient DNA with 454 Sequencing, we are able to move paleogenomics from a niche application to high-throughput analysis. I can see a time of museumomics where museums will add genomic analyses to extinct species stored in collections around the world.”

 454 Life Sciences, a Roche company, develops and commercializes novel instrumentation for high-throughput DNA sequencing. Specific applications include whole-genome sequencing, RNA analysis and ultra-deep sequencing of target genes. The hallmarks of 454 Sequencing™ are its simple, unbiased sample preparation and massively parallel sequencing, which makes large-scale scientific projects feasible and more affordable. During the last months, the technology proved its suitability in a lot of application examples, in cancer research, infectious diseases research, drug discovery, marine biology, anthropology, paleontology, and many more.

For additional information, please visit http://www.454.com.

About Roche and the Roche Diagnostics Division

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world’s biggest biotech company and an innovator of products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people’s health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, a market leader in virology and active in other major therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases, inflammation, metabolism and central nervous system. In 2006 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 33.3 billion Swiss francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 8.7 billion Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 75,000 worldwide and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche’s Diagnostics Division offers a uniquely broad product portfolio and supplies a wide array of innovative testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories world-wide. For further information, please visit our website at www.roche.com.

For more information please contact:

Lori McLaughlin

Corporate Communications

Roche Diagnostics Corporation

317-521-3112