Complete Genomics is a life sciences company that has developed and commercialized a DNA sequencing platform for human genome sequencing and analysis. This solution combines the company's proprietary human genome sequencing technology with its informatics and data management software to provide finished variant reports and assemblies at Complete Genomics’ own commercial genome center in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...

History

Complete Genomics was founded in March 2006 by Clifford Reid, Radoje (Rade) Drmanac, and John Curson. Clifford Reid was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Complete Genomics before leaving in 2015 to setup Genos, a spinoff of Complete Genomics' consumer division. In February 2009, Complete Genomics announced that it had sequenced its first human

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...

and submitted the resulting variant data to the

National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The ...

database. Then, in November 2009, Complete Genomics published sequence data for three human genomes in the journal

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

. By the end of 2009, Complete Genomics had sequenced 50 human genomes. To date, the company has sequenced more than 20,000 genomes. The resulting data has supported research in diverse areas such as screening of

embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...

s, detection of genetic relationships,

neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

, a novel Mendelian disease with neuromuscular and cardiac involvement,

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating d ...

s, Prader-Willi syndrome and autism,

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

, and

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

. In 2014, a collaboration among

Radboud University Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century D ...

(The Netherlands), Maastricht University Medical Centre (The Netherlands),

Central South University Central South University (CSU; ) is a national public university in Changsha, Hunan, China. The university is sponsored by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, China Ministry of Education. It is a Chinese state Double Fir ...

(China) and Complete Genomics identified major causes of

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...

using whole genome sequencing. In 2016, Complete Genomics contributed over 184 phased human genomes to George Church's

Personal Genome Project The Personal Genome Project (PGP) is a long term, large cohort study which aims to sequence and publicize the complete genomes and medical records of 100,000 volunteers, in order to enable research into personal genomics and personalized medicine. ...

. In 2019, they published on their new single-tube long fragment read (stLFR) technology, enabling construction of long DNA molecules from short reads using a combinatorial process of DNA barcoding. This enables phasing, SV detection, scaffolding, and cost-effective diploid ''de novo'' genome assembly, from second generation sequencing technology. In March 2013 Complete Genomics was acquired by BGI-Shenzhen, a genomics services company in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, China. After the acquisition Complete Genomics moved to San Jose, and in June 2018 become part of MGI, the instruments manufacturing business of BGI.

Technology platform

Complete Genomics’ proprietary human genome sequencing technology is optimized for the exclusive study of human DNA, providing assembled sequences and variation files. The technology relies on

DNA nanoball sequencing DNA nanoball sequencing is a high throughput sequencing technology that is used to determine the entire genomic sequence of an organism. The method uses rolling circle replication to amplify small fragments of genomic DNA into ''DNA nanoballs''. ...

, which assembles short sequences of DNA into a full genome. It is designed to use lower volumes and concentrations of reagents than existing systems, and have large numbers of base reads per image.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Biotechnology companies of the United States Biotechnology companies established in 2006 Genomics companies Companies based in Mountain View, California Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area 2006 establishments in California 2013 mergers and acquisitions