MIT BioMicro Center: The Core Bio-Fabrication and Bio-Information Resource at MIT

The BioMicro Center was established in 2000 as the core bio-fabrication and bio-information technology resource at MIT. The Center is a joint endeavor of the Center for Environmental Health Sciences, the Department of Biology, the Koch Institute, and the Department of Biological Engineering. The Center aims to provide an integrated facility for genomics, high-throughput technology, database storage, and bioinformatics. The BioMicro Center maintains a strong commitment to new technology development and deployment. A focus on new technology also helps to ensure that the BioMicro Center remains at the cutting edge of high throughput analytical methods.

The BioMicro Center maintains a strong commitment to new technology development and deployment. A focus on new technology also helps to ensure that the BioMicro Center remains at the cutting edgze of high throughput analytical methods.

ILLUMINA MASSIVELY PARALLEL SEQUENCING -- The MIT BioMicro Center has one high-throughput Solexa Genome Analyzers 2.0 (Illumina), which is currently being used for a variety of applications, including ChIP-Seq, miRNA sequencing and expression sequencing. The next-generation sequencer can process up to 16 samples per week, with a data yield of approximately 10 million reads per sample. Read lengths can be any length upto 36 bases. Longer runs (upto 72nt) should be available in early 2009.

Illumina sequencing works by binding randomly fragmented DNA to an optical flowcell . Templates are sequenced by incorporating fluorescently labeled nucleotides in a “Sequencing-By-Synthesis” reaction.

The system consists of a cluster generation station, a Paired-End module, and a Genome Analyzer, all of which work in concert to generate and analyze flowcells.