News Release

Rapid approach to identify influenza A virus mutations and drug resistance developed

H1N1 can be tracked by new method from Singapore scientists

Business Announcement

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore

Genome Institute of Singapore scientists, led by Christopher Wong, Ph.D., have developed a novel approach to uncover the complete sequence of any influenza A virus, including H1NI, with just a quick nasal swab or nasal pharyngeal wash from patients.

The new method, which enables scientists to amplify full genomes of influenza A viruses and sequence them within a day, was developed at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), one of the research institutes sponsored by Singapore's A*STAR (Agency for Science, Development and Research), in collaboration with Roche NimbleGen.

The system, which combines a novel generic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with NimbleGen's unique microarray-based platform, makes use of the same RNA (ribonucleic acid) material that is left over from traditional PCR-based diagnostics and is able to recognize any novel strain of influenza A in the first pass.

This enables a faster development of diagnostics for any possible new variant; it can also rapidly determine whether the strain has developed drug resistance. (Details of NimbleGen's microarray-based platform are provided below.)

"This new approach takes advantage of our novel PCR technology, developed for detecting a wide range of pathogens," said Dr. Wong, GIS Chief Scientific Officer for Biomarker Development. "This should greatly simplify the process of sequencing novel viruses."

The scientists' approach is also able to trace the mutations in the influenza A virus that may cause its resistance to drugs.

"The significance of this tracking process can be better appreciated in that it provides for vital information that can be used to prevent or combat a pandemic," said Edison Liu, M.D., GIS Executive Director.

This is especially important given the rapid spread of the new strain of the influenza A (nH1N1) virus. Experts have been concerned that the evolutionary track of this new strain might lead to mutation or re-assortment with other influenza strains with the potential to produce a more deadly strain, as the world experienced with the 1918 strain.

"With the development of this new system, the entire project team hopes to better and more quickly track this new flu variant and keep the world informed of how the virus is evolving," said Gerd Maass, Ph.D., CEO of Roche NimbleGen.

GIS scientists used NimbleGen arrays in a similar way during the SARS outbreak in 2003, to understand the infectious source and to globally monitor the SARS virus.

Roche NimbleGen's custom-developed microarrays:

The first arrays developed by Roche NimbleGen were designed, manufactured and shipped to Singapore just four days after the project was started. As the custom-developed high-density microarray contains probes which can reveal the complete sequence of the flu virus from patient samples, it enables the detection of any single base mutations in the regions of the genome, which is important for drug susceptibility. Where virus re-assortment has occurred, it will be able to identify which strain of influenza A it has recombined with, as well as the genomic location of the re-assortment to better understand and track the evolutionary path and variants of the virus.

NimbleGen's microarray-based customised platform is able to sequence as many as 36 genomes per day per chip reader device.

###

Genome Institute of Singapore: www.gis.a-star.edu.sg

The Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) is a member of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). It is a national initiative with a global vision that seeks to use genomic sciences to improve public health and public prosperity. Established in 2001 as a centre for genomic discovery, the GIS will pursue the integration of technology, genetics and biology towards the goal of individualized medicine. The key research areas at the GIS include Systems Biology, Stem Cell & Developmental Biology, Cancer Biology & Pharmacology, Human Genetics, Infectious Diseases, Genomic Technologies, and Computational & Mathematical Biology. The genomics infrastructure at the GIS is utilized to train new scientific talent, to function as a bridge for academic and industrial research, and to explore scientific questions of high impact.

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR): www.a-star.edu.sg

A*STAR is Singapore's lead agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent for a vibrant knowledge-based Singapore. A*STAR actively nurtures public sector research and development in Biomedical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, with a particular focus on fields essential to Singapore's manufacturing industry and new growth industries. It oversees 22 research institutes, consortia and centres, and supports extramural research with the universities, hospital research centres and other local and international partners. At the heart of this knowledge intensive work is human capital. Top local and international scientific talent drive knowledge creation at A*STAR research institutes. The agency also sends scholars for undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral training in the best universities, a reflection of the high priority A*STAR places on nurturing the next generation of scientific talent.

Roche: www.roche.com

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world's largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in diabetes management. Roche's personalized healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients. In 2008, Roche had over 80,000 employees worldwide and invested almost 9 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 45.6 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.

Roche NimbleGen: www.nimblegen.com

Roche NimbleGen is a leading innovator, manufacturer, and supplier of a proprietary suite of DNA microarrays, consumables, instruments and services. Roche NimbleGen produces high-density arrays of long oligonucleotide probes that provide greater information content and higher data quality necessary for studying the full diversity of genomic and epigenomic variation. The enhanced performance is made possible by Roche NimbleGen's proprietary Maskless Array Synthesis (MAS) technology, which uses digital light processing and rapid, high-yield photochemistry to synthesize long oligonucleotide, high-density DNA microarrays with extreme flexibility. NIMBLEGEN is a trademark of Roche.

For more information please contact:

Genome Institute of Singapore:
Winnie Serah Lim
Tel: (65) 6478 8013;
(65) 9730 7884
Email: limcp2@gis.a-star.edu.sg

Roche Diagnostics:
Dr. Burkhard Ziebolz
Tel: +49 8856 604830
Email: burkhard.ziebolz@roche.com

Roche NimbleGen:
Kary Staples
Tel: +1 608 218 7623
Email: kary.staples@roche.com


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.