Leading-edge technology and service provider, delivering end-to-end solutions for omics data acquisition and analysis.
The Omics and Precision Analytics Laboratory (OPAL) is one of the technology platforms within the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A state-of-the-art technology platform among our suite of services, OPAL is delivering value and helping to advance research for various sectors.
While their roots are in agriculture, the team is proud to work with researchers and organizations throughout the innovation ecosystem to advance science and technology, providing insights into — and solutions to — complex challenges.
OPAL is a premier platform for omics technology, providing world-class genomics, transcriptomics, and bioinformatics services to researchers and organizations, including those in agri-food and other fields of research and discovery.
The technology platform includes the latest long-read and high-throughput short-read sequencing technologies. Providing end-to-end support, the team offers support from project design to the first extraction, to the delivery of publication-quality bioinformatics data.
- Genomics and transcriptomics
- Whole genome sequencing (WGS)
- RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq)
- Genotyping (low-pass WGS/skim-seq and targeted SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) sequencing)
- PacBio Kinnex and isoform sequencing (Iso-Seq)
- Shotgun metagenomics
- Metabarcoding (16S, 18S, ITS (internal transcribed spacer))
- Hi-C library preparation and sequencing
- Amplicon sequencing
- Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq)
- Single-cell sequencing
- Bioinformatics
- Genome assembly and annotation, including phased haploid and complex polyploid genomes
- Genome visualization tools
- Transcriptome assembly
- Differential expression analysis
- Sequence and structural variant calling
- Machine learning and AI
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Fisheries and aquaculture
- Healthcare and social services
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized lab | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
| DNA & RNA Sequencing Equipment | Illumina NovaSeq 6000 Sequencing System | Short-read sequencing, generates up to 6 Tb or 20 billion reads in 48 hours with dual flow cell load. |
| Illumina MiSeq Sequencing System | Benchtop sequencer with a 15 GB output per run and a maximum library size of 600 bp. Ideal for small projects, including small genomes, target sequencing, amplicon sequencing and more. | |
| PacBio Sequel lle system | Ideal for smaller projects that benefit from the read length and accuracy of HiFi reads, and transcript isoform discovery projects that use the Iso-Seq technique, such as genome annotation projects. | |
| PacBio Revio system | HiFi reads from the Revio provide long-range information with high-base accuracy, resulting in data for high-quality plant, animal and microbial genome assemblies through a single cost-effective technology. | |
| Oxford Nanopore PromethION 24 high-throughput nanopore sequencer | Ideal for large-scale projects. Up to 24 high-capacity flow cells can be run simultaneously, producing sequencing data from short to long (e.g. ≥ 15 KB) to ultralong (e.g. ≥ 4 MB). | |
| Laboratory Automation Equipment | Hamilton NGS STAR liquid handling system | Designed for high-throughput sequencing workflows, automates the preparation of samples with precision and accuracy, handling up to 96 samples simultaneously. |
Private and public sector research partners
- Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council
- Agriculture Victoria Research partnership (Australia)
- National Research Council Canada
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Additional information
| Title | URL |
|---|---|
| Partners investing in new technology featuring AI to detect herbicide-resistant weeds. | https://gifs.ca/news/partners-investing-in-new-technology-featuring-ai-to-detect-herbicide-resistan… |
| GIFS receives $1.35 million in federal funding for OPAL. | https://gifs.ca/news/details/gifs_receives_135_million_in_federal_funding_for_omics_and_precision_agriculture_laboratory_opal |
| GIFS laboratory at USask brings latest sequencing technology to Western Canada. | https://gifs.ca/news/gifs-latest-sequencing-technology |
| Landmark study generates first genomic atlas for global wheat improvement: USask-led study sequences genomes of 15 wheat varieties around the world. | https://news.usask.ca/articles/research/2020/landmark-study-generates-first-genomic-atlas-for-globa… |
| Farm Credit Canada announces $5 million investment into GIFS at USask to accelerate breeding and innovation for Canadian agriculture. | https://www.fcc-fac.ca/en/about-fcc/media-centre/news-releases/2024/investment-announcement-gifs-ac… |