It took the Human Genome Project ten years , and close to three billion dollars , to sequence the first human genome . Now , in a major milestone for ergonomics , a ship’s company has introduced a political machine that it claims can sequence an entire human genome in a matter of hr , for less than $ 1,000 .
Illumina , a drawing card in the deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing industry , made the announcement yesterday at the annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco . The company calls its high - throughput genetic sequencing machine the HiSeq X Ten . harmonise to Illumina , the computer hardware is capable of churning out five whole human genome sequences in a individual day ( a six - fold amphetamine improvement over its predecessor ) , at just under $ 1,000 a pop music . As recently as ten year ago , sequence a whole human genome would define you back more than a after part of a million dollars . A fast , sub-$1,000 sequence solution heralds Modern point of approachability for inquiry , industriousness , and everyday consumers alike .
Most significantly , it could make personalized medicine a realness , with doctors able-bodied to sequence a patient role ’s genome inexpensively , and dictate therapies orient to single genetical want .
It ’s crucial to point out that the $ 1,000 monetary value tatter applies to the monetary value of sequence . The up - front cost on the hardware , itself , remains quite expensive . Each HiSeq X Ten system is actually a bunch of ten $ 1 - million motorcar ( project above ) , working in unison , bring the price rag to a nerveless $ 10 - million . How does one recover that kind of up - front investment funds ? By sequencing a LOT of genomes . Here’sArs Technica ’s John Timmer :
Despite the gamy price of entering , however , Illumina claims that the amortized price is included in their $ 1,000 figure — as are the cost of set up the DNA and consumables used during the reactions , even the labor needed to get it all to happen [ Ed Note : something previous claims to the sub-$1,000 sequencing throne neglect to consider ] . In other words , a single genome will still cost a chance ; buy the organization and crank out genomes nonstop for a few years [ Ed . Note : Illumina estimates each HiSeq X Ten ’s output at 18,000 genome a class ] will mean that the average toll drops to near the $ 1,000 price tag .
Forbes ’ Matthew Herper reportsthat three institutions have purchased Illumina ’s raw high - horsepower sequencing machine : The first is sequencing giant Macrogen ; the second the Harvard - MIT Broad Institute , and the third is the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia .
Illumina ’s announcement come just five months after the cancellation of the Archon X Competition , which , for many years , offered to award $ 10 - million to the first squad to make genome sequence potential for less than a grand piano per go . According to X Prize founder Peter Diamandis , the rival was discontinued because the effort to reach a sub-$1,000 genome had been “ outpace by invention . ”
While genome - sequence hardware remains well beyond the grasp of unremarkable consumer , the ability to deliver a full human genome for under $ 1,000 is , to quote Eric Lander , a founding film director of the Broad Institute , “ tremendously exciting . ”
“ The HiSeq X Ten should give us the ability to analyze complete genomic information from huge sample distribution populations , ” he say in a statement . “ Over the next few geezerhood , we have an chance to learn as much about the genetics of human disease as we have read in the history of medicine . ”
[ Forbes|Ars Technica ]
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