PacBio and researchers at the University of California, Davis unveiled CiFi, a community‑developed method that fuses chromatin conformation capture (3C) with PacBio’s HiFi long‑read sequencing. The approach generates multi‑contact reads that capture several chromatin interactions within a single molecule, allowing chromosome‑scale, haplotype‑resolved genome assemblies from a single Revio sequencing run.
In a demonstration on prairie and meadow vole samples, the CiFi workflow produced uncurated assemblies with scaffold N50 values exceeding 100 million base pairs and telomeric sequence detected at both ends of many scaffolds. The method requires fewer cells, fewer libraries, and fewer sequencing runs than traditional Hi‑C, lowering barriers for projects limited by cost, complexity, or sample availability.
By leveraging HiFi accuracy and the new CiFi chemistry, PacBio expands its multi‑omics capabilities without new hardware. The technology unlocks new customer use cases in genome biology, biodiversity studies, and functional genomics while reducing input requirements and sequencing cost, positioning PacBio to capture a growing market for high‑quality, chromosome‑scale assemblies.
David Miller, Vice President of Global Marketing at PacBio, said the launch “expands our multi‑omics capabilities, increasing what we can do on HiFi sequencing systems without new hardware and unlocking new customer use cases.” Megan Dennis, PhD, Associate Professor at UC Davis, added that CiFi “makes high‑accuracy, multi‑contact chromatin capture accessible to researchers working with limited or challenging samples, enabling chromosome‑scale assemblies with greater confidence and far less input.”
Investors responded favorably to the announcement, citing the technology’s potential to broaden PacBio’s market reach and strengthen its competitive edge over short‑read Hi‑C methods. The launch is expected to drive demand for HiFi sequencing systems and support PacBio’s long‑term growth strategy.
CiFi positions PacBio to meet the increasing demand for accurate, chromosome‑scale genome assemblies, reinforcing its leadership in long‑read sequencing and opening new revenue streams in genomics research and biodiversity studies.
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