DNA Sequencing Facility: Ion Torrent PGM

Ion Torrent’s PGM is a versatile platform, which offers three levels of throughput with its 314, 316 and 318 chips (see table below).

Read accuracy and throughput make the PGM an ideal platform for resequencing or de novo sequencing of small genomes. 200bp sequencing runs done on varying length E. coli DH10B libraries show excellent average aligned read accuracies even out to 200 and 250bp read lengths. Data from a 350bp E. coli DH10B library sequenced using a 316 chip on our PGM can be seen here.   

Since the initial release of the PGM, significant improvements have been made with regards to read length, read quantity and overall read quality due mostly to chemistry changes and improved base calling algorithms. The most recent improvement to this platform has been read length. The newly available 300bp sequencing kit produces average read lengths ≥300bp. Continued improvements in chemistry, read length and base calling algorithms will make this platform a valuable complement to our existing next gen sequencing platforms. A 400bp sequencing kit is projected to be released by the end of 2012.

We have also added Ion Torrent’s newest platform, the Proton, to our existing lineup of next-generation sequencing platforms. Our Proton has just arrived, so please check back soon for more information on this platform. The Proton enjoys the same advantage as the PGM does over other platforms; fast turnaround coupled with a much higher throughput make this platform ideal for quick results from transcriptomes, exomes and large genomes. The specifications for the current Proton chip, Proton I, report up to 10Gb of throughput with 200bp sequencing. With the expected transition to the 300bp sequencing kit and, later the anticipated 400bp sequencing kit, the Proton I could double in throughput. The Proton II chip, projected for release at the end of the first quarter of 2013, is expected to quadruple the throughput of the Proton I.