Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) a surveillance tool is used by researchers to rapidly and economically gather DNA information from biological samples. DOD is looking into using NGS outside the U.S by enabling the use of an automated system.
The Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) is working with scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to test the deployment of the NGS technology called “Edge Bioinformatics.” Navy researchers are gathering bioinformatics information specifically DNA sequence information about thousands of organisms as well as examining the data management systems used.
“It sounds complicated,” said Lt Vishwesh Mokashi, Department Head of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Department at NMRC. “What it boils down to is a point and click software program that would automate some aspects of bioinformatics analysis and help scientists outside the U.S analyze NGS data.”
One of the problems is that the sheer size and complexity of NGS datasets cause bioinformaticists to routinely write their own computer programs to answer questions the experiment is designed to ask. However, smaller labs in universities and overseas often do not have the resources available to support a team of bioinformatics professionals or have the high performance computers required to do their work.
To counteract this problem, researchers have demonstrated how scientists not in the U.S and a bioinformatician in the U.S can work together through a remote connection to interpret results of the automated analyses.
In a demonstration using Edge Bioinformatics, it was found that in half a day’s time or less, the automated system produced results that a single PhD biologist in a lab outside the U.S might have to work days or weeks to produce the information manually.
Once the Navy deploys the system, researchers will be able to support a range of analysis types from polymerase chain reaction assay development to characterizing an unknown organism. Mokashi said, “This system when completely deployed will support both Army and Navy labs in the U.S and outside the U.S to create a common platform for NGS data analysis.”