PromethION Flow Cell Packs and Ligation Sequencing Kits

Procurement Summary

The NOAA, NMFS, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) requires the procurement of PromethION Flow Cell packs and ligation sequencing kits for the development of a mission-critical molecular tool to genetically sequence environmental and wildlife tissue samples. This procurement will support the development of a novel molecular technique (DNA methylation sex-markers) to identify the sex of hatchling sea turtles; this groundbreaking scientific research will allow for a non-invasive, large-scale, rapid, and real-time assessment of live hatchling sex ratios of all NMFS-managed green sea turtle populations for the first time ever. Since the early 1980s, the sea turtle research community has tried and failed to identify a method to determine sea turtle sex because sea turtle hatchling sex is impossible to determine non-lethally and their sex cannot be determined externally until maturity (as sea turtles do not have sex chromosomes). The resulting data and establishment of a viable molecular technique to determine sea turtle hatchling sex can be transferable to all sea turtle species and could substantially accelerate management decisions. The Government currently owns Nanopore sequencers, therefore all Flow Cells and kits will need to be compatible with existing equipment. The purchase will include 56 PromethION Flow Cells, which contain up to 2,675 Nanopore channels, and associated kits which will be used to sequence DNA. The PromethION Flow Cell Packs and ligation sequencing kits are not produced or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonable available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality.

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