SeqStudio Genetic Analyzer

Middle Georgia State University (MGSU) has a total enrollment of 8039 students, with five campuses located in rural and urban areas in central Georgia. The majority of MGSU students are undergraduates, including all students in the biology program. Faculty in the Department of Natural Sciences at MGSU request the purchase of a SeqStudio Genetic Analyzer. This instrument is capable of cost-efficient DNA sequencing and fragment analysis.

Importantly, the instrument requested has minimal operational and maintenance requirements. In addition to the low cost per sequence ($2.50), a SeqStudio represents an ideal instrument for the inclusion of genetic experiments into biology and biomedical focused courses and research programs. While MGSU has basic molecular laboratory equipment (e.g., thermocyclers), access to advanced instruments is extremely limited, especially in classroom settings. If funded, faculty will utilize the genetic analyzer to modernize biomedical training in at least 6 biology and allied health sciences courses, impacting an approximate 600 students per year.

These courses include Molecular Biology, Microbiology (for biology majors), Foundations of Microbiology (for allied health sciences majors), Genetics, Parasitology, and Disease Biology. Three faculty demonstrate need for the instrument for their biomedical research programs. The first research program surveys ticks and tick-borne pathogens in the central Georgia region, predominantly in rural and semi-urban communities. This project will utilize the SeqStudio to generate genomic data used to aid identification of ticks and their transmitted pathogens, as well as track dispersal patterns over time.

This data will be used to assess associated public health risks. The second research program uses bio-orthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging to explore bacterial proteins used to attack host cells, primarily with the human pathogen Bartonella henselae. The SeqStudio will assist by providing a rapid, cost-effective means of confirming correctness of genetic constructs essential to experimental design and subcloning. The third research program monitors the occurrence of Legionella bacteria in water systems, particularly in central Georgia.

The SeqStudio would provide a more rapid tool to assess Legionella bacteria, which currently requires microbial cultivation methods at MGSU. Additionally, four non-biomedical faculty have educational and research needs for a genetic analyzer as well. The procurement of a SeqStudio would also provide an instrument that is beneficial beyond MGSU. Several faculty from two other regional institutions within a 25-mile radius (half hour drive) have expressed interest in the use of a genetic analyzer in their biomedical research programs.

Grant Number: 1S10GM158765-01
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Tyler Achatz