Sanger Services
The researcher isolates DNA templates from a variety of sources, including plasmids and PCR reactions and submits samples pre-mixed with primers, based on the requirements specified by GSC. GSC performs sequencing on ABI 3730XL DNA Analyzer and deliver the ab1 files electronically.
Sanger Full Reactions
GSC staff set up cycle sequencing reactions, perform clean-up, run the samples on the ABI 3730XL, and deliver the sequence data electronically.
In order to ensure the best quality results, samples submitted for analysis must meet certain requirements. Detailed guidelines for sample preparation can be found in our downloadable Sample Submission Requirements Guide.
Creating and Managing New Projects (GSC LIMS)
All Sanger sequencing requests must now go through our GSC Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). If this is your first time using LIMS, please follow the instructions in our LIMS User Guide to create a new account and verify your payment method. You must have a GSC LIMS account and login to access the new submission forms. For quickstart guides download GSC-LIMS Registration Instructions and GSC-LIMS Sample Submission Instructions. If you have any questions about your LIMS account or the sample submission process, please email Kris Lee at flsi-sangerseq-g@vt.edu or call (540) 231-1229.
In person: Customers can do so at the Steger Hall main reception desk between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM. In most cases, samples received by 9:00 AM will be processed that same day.
By Shuttle from FBRI: We have a protocol for transporting DNA and RNA samples (both Sanger and NGS) Download the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Sample Transfer Protocol by Shuttle.
By Mail: Pack the samples with ice packs and include an information sheet with the researcher’s name and contact information and indicate that the samples are intended for Sanger sequencing. Send the package to:
Genomics Sequencing Center
Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech
1015 Life Science Circle
Blacksburg, VA 24061
(540) 231-1229
Upon completion of the sequencing run, you will be notified via email through the LIMS that your results are available for you to download. Log into your LIMS account and save these files (.ab1 files) to your computer. There are several software programs available online for viewing this type of sequencing file. For Sanger sequencing, we use Sequence Scanner 2 which is free downloadable software available from ABI.
Monday through Friday, our turnaround time is 48 hours, but we make every effort to complete the work within 24 hours. Our lab is closed on weekends so any Sanger samples submitted after 9:00 AM on Friday will not be processed until Monday.
Due to limitations in our storage capacity, the GSC can only maintain customer data for a period of 90 days following completion of work. Any data files older than 90 days are subject to removal from our systems in order to make room for new sequencing runs. We strongly encourage our users to download and check the integrity of their sequencing data files (e.g. md5sums) as soon as possible, and to utilize appropriate long-term storage and curation resources for their research data. Please visit here for more information on current Virginia Tech guidelines and best practices with regards to Data Management.