WA centre gets new SNP detection equipment

In a major boost for the WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC) at Murdoch University, researchers will take delivery of a new Transgenomic WAVE Denaturing High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (DHPLC).

The new equipment, worth $230,000, will assist in the detection of unknown genetic mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and is the first installation of its kind in Australia.

SABC director Prof Mike Jones pointed out that researchers in agricultural biotechnology work on more than 12 different species of plants and animals -- a much bigger task than that faced by medical researchers.

"Their work is compounded by the size and complexity of plant and animal genomes. Arabidopsis, for example, is one of the simplest plant genomes and has 25,000 genes. Researchers serving WA's multi-million dollar wheat industry face a genome containing six times as much DNA as a human's," Jones explained.

The new equipment has been funded largely from an Australian Research Council (ARC) grant for large equipment, in conjunction with University of Western Australia (UWA). As the WA researchers have no state funding, the SABC has to, as Jones put it: "take the grants it gets very seriously", and ensure the funds are allocated to projects which will provide maximum facility to the greatest number of users.

The new equipment adds to the SABC's over $8 million worth of technological infrastructure being used by the 200 researchers now using the facility.

SABC laboratory manager Dr David Berryman said the system was the first in Australia with fluorescent detection and a fraction collector. He said the new equipment, which utilises patented DNA binding columns and precise temperature control to separate DNA with single base differences, would be used to discover, screen and analyse genetic variation for a wide range of research projects.

Berryman claimed the investment would help keep WA at the cutting edge of agricultural biotechnology, enabling it to make valuable progress by using new technologies for gene discovery and the application of molecular knowledge to improve crops and livestock.

He noted that the new, US-sourced equipment would be used primarily for SNP discovery, in a 'most efficient' way. This identifies mismatches prior to sequencing, and allows a more targeted approach to research, he said.

Because of the lack of previous data, and the wide variety of species, funds for animal and plant research need to be allocated more wisely than human genome research "simply because when working on plants and animals we are basically working from scratch," added Jones.

"We see ourselves more as a 'research hotel', for our resident groups [at SABC and Murdoch]. SABC maintains the facilities and makes the equipment and services available to a wide range of research groups. We already have 16 separate groups, and that includes three start-ups too," said Jones.

Jones described the SABC model as very cost-effective for start-ups and small research groups as it allowed them to concentrate on the staffing and product development, and not worry about the infrastructure.

"We think this approach is unique in Australia," he said.