In the run up to Synbiobeta25 I decided to update the cost and productivity curves.
Here is the prior update, with a description of what they are, and are not, and of my history in developing them. You can follow the thread backwards for comments on comparisons to Moore’s Law.
I was also asked recently to provide a opinion about the feasibility of the Human Genome Project 2 proposal, which led me to dig into the performance of the Ultima UG100 instrument. I will publish my thoughts on the HGP 2 later.
The UG 100 is a truly impressive instrument, capable of sequencing >30,000 human genomes annually at 30x coverage, with only about an hour of human hands on time to start a sequencing run. The most recent price and productivity sequencing data are based on the UG 100.
As usual, please remember where you found them.
The price per base of DNA sequencing and synthesis — reading and writing DNA — based on price surveys and industry interviews. Until recently, most synthetic genes (the red line) were assembled from short oligonucleotides (oligos) synthesized in large volumes on columns (pink line). Now genes can be readily assembled from oligos synthesized in very small volumes on arrays, though data on the usage and price of array oligos is difficult to pin down; prices for array oligos are asserted to fall in the range from $.00001 to $.001 per base.
The productivity of DNA synthesis and sequencing, measured as bases per person per day, using commercially available instruments, and compared to Moore's Law, which is a proxy for IT productivity. Productivity in sequencing DNA has increased much faster than Moore's Law in recent years. Productivity in synthesizing DNA must certainly have increased substantially for privately developed and assembled synthesizers, but no new synthesis instruments, and no relevant performance figures, have been released since 2008.