DRESDEN-concept Genome Center

• Subject Area: General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 407482635

The DRESDEN-concept Genome Center (DCGC) provides state-of-the-art infrastructure and technologyplatforms in the area of NGS, advanced genome sequencing and DNA protocols to support and drive genomerelated research for the DRESDEN-concept partners consisting of 24 academic institutions and over 250 research partners. The DCGC enables the university to provide shared open access infrastructure under a ‘onecampus‘ principle to its collaboration partners as well as other institutions in the region that are conducting genomics research. Our successful operational and financial model further provides a means of both driving the region‘s scientific innovation potential and achieving long term financial sustainability of the Technology platform – a major challenge for universities in Germany. The DCGC, as an already established internationallytop-ranked genome sequencing center, now aims through the current DFG call to offer advanced sequencing capabilities to researchers throughout Germany as well as international consortia interested specifically in de novo genome sequencing. While the DCGC will provide the full range of standard short range sequencing technologies, the principal purpose of the NGS short-read sequencing is to support DCGC advanced de novo sequencing and single cell transcriptomics projects as well as other advanced single cell genomic methods. By positioning itself in these two technology areas, the DCGC will provide a). high quality, de novo reference genomes that are essential for biological and medical research. Short-read NGS does not achieve the requiredquality yet there are a large number of major projects in Germany that require such high quality results (e.g., participation in the vertebrate G10K project award to Senckenberg and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt to sequence the diversity of often ignored plants, animals, and fungi); and b). extend the existing portfolio for rare cell analyses that are relevant to the regeneration and medical community that make up a large portion of existing users. The particularly close integration of the Medical Faculty and Uniklinikum with the basic research and translational research institutes on the Johannstadt campus in Dresden providesunique opportunities to leverage top-level bioinformatics and data interpretation competences available in the basic and translational research institutes for the benefit of medical and clinical research. Furthermore, with regard to the positioning of the DCGC for advanced de novo genome sequencing and single cell transcriptomics, we also reason that sufficient capacity for short-read NGS is likely to exist elsewhere. Finally, the DCGC, in compliance with European Fair Competition law, does not wish to compete with Commercial providers and so positions itself to provide advanced methods not readily available from the Commercial sector.

• DFG Programme: Major Instrumentation Initiatives
• Major Instrumentation: Desktop DNA Sequencer ; IT Infrastructure (Data Storage) ; System for Sample Preparation (Library Preparation System)
• Instrumentation Group: 1060 Dilutoren, Pipettiergeräte, Probennehmer ; 3150 DNA-Sequenzer
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Dresden
• Leader: Professor Ezio Bonifacio, Ph.D.