Challenge:
High-quality reference genome assemblies required expensive, high-coverage sequencing that put them out of reach for most research labs.
Approach:
Developed a rapid, low-cost methodology to assemble the Drosophila melanogaster reference genome using low-coverage, long-read sequencing, reducing costs by approximately 90% while maintaining high assembly quality.
Result:
Published in G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics (2018). Co-first author. Reduced sequencing costs by approximately 90% while maintaining reference-quality assembly. The methodology has been adopted by research groups globally, demonstrating that high-quality assemblies are accessible to labs with limited budgets.
