More than a month ago we wrote a post about the new DNASeq library prep kits from Otogenetics, a U.S. based sequencing service provider who created their own kits to reduce costs. Now, we’ve had a chance to see what the kits and their contents look like…
Otogenetics’ standard Totseq dsDNA library preparation Kit and their Totseq dsDNA library preparation master Kit are meant to be direct substitutes for the NEBNext®DNA Library Prep Master Mix Set for Illumina®. As such, they contain the End Repair, A-tailing, and Ligation Enzymes and Buffers in addition to the Oto high fidelity PCR master mix.
The Totseq dsDNA library preparation master Kit has the additional adaptors, PE 1.0 and PE 2.0 primers so is essentially the same as what one would receive if they purchased the NEBNext®DNA Library Prep Master Mix Set for Illumina® and NEBNext® Multiplex Oligos for Illumina®. The Totseq Ultra Low dsDNA library preparation Master Kit seems to contain nearly the same components and is recommended as a replacement for the NEBNext® Ultra™ DNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina®.
As indicated in the previous post, the most interesting part of the Otogenetics offer is their gene enrichment panels that have been optimized in their CLIA certified clinical diagnostic sequencing facility in the United States. As the name of the company would imply, the original focus of the company was on evaluating genes responsible for deafness, however now the company offers a wide range of target sequencing enrichment kits for a variety of diseases and will produce custom gene list kits. These enrichment panels seem to be a direct alternative to the TruSight Sequencing Panels from Illumina®. A look inside the TotSeq Targeted Human BRCA Gene library prep Master Kit for example reveals the nicely color-coded and labeled tubes users expect.
A search using Google Scholar reveals that many successful studies analyzing the genetic causes of deafness have included Otogenetics’ services. Since these kits contain the same reagents carefully quality controlled in the Otogenetics platform, users are expected to be pleased with the performance of these kits.
The website of the European distributor for Otogenetics products and services has an extensive listing of Otogenetics kits and prices.
Researchers who would like to know more about the contents of the DNASeq library prep kits from Otogenetics can consult this chart.
Legal notes: NEBNext® is a registered trademark of New England Biolabs, and Illumina® is a registered trademark of Illumina.
