Acquisition of long read, high-throughput sequencing device for food and agriculture research at Virginia Tech

Major goals of this project include to use a long read sequencing equipment PromethION24 to advance cutting-edge research and extension projects; to educate and train postdoc, senior scientists, graduate, undergraduate, and K-12 students; and to serve regional and national needs of genomic sequencing in agriculture research and extension. On the research front, we plan to use this equipment to enhance research and extension activities in the field of genomics and metagenomics of plant and animal research, water quality and antibiotic resistance genes, soil health and microbial metagenomics, disease borne vectors, and food safety and security. The data generated by this equipment will spur new trans-disciplinary collaboration in the field of agriculture research with engineering, computer science, machine learning and data sciences. The PromethION24 will be maintained by our Genomics Core Facility, which provides extensive experience in servicing the Virginia Tech research community. The Fralin Life Sciences Institute will provide long term support during and after the end of grant period. All participating collaborators agree to broaden the participation of Ag and Engineering education in women and underrepresented minorities, and high school students. Towards the end of this grant, we expect to provide service to regional and national research programs with a focus on agriculture related research.