The Future
47
thePeorian.com
the computer industry: better
(
more comprehensive), faster and
cheaper. The more affordable
technology allows NCAUR
researchers to sequence the entire
genomes of five fungal pathogens
in a day for about $1,000.
The genome sequencing lab is a
shared resource that can be used
by scientists throughout NCAUR,
in other food safety areas and
in multiple other research units.
As such, the cost per project to
access the technology is sharply
reduced, while the overall
value and impact on research is
multiplied. It gives NCAUR a
fundamentally new capability to
solve major agricultural problems
while spending far less money
than would have been required
even a few years ago. “That,”
Ward points out, “is good use of
taxpayer money.”
The increased capacity allows
researchers to do in weeks
what previously would have
required years to accomplish,
thanks to another piece of critical
equipment: A powerful enough
computer to analyze the “Big
Data” that is generated by the
sequencers.
“
This computer cluster
is designed to run many
calculations in parallel, greatly
reducing the computing time
that is needed,” says Dr. David
Labeda, NCAUR microbiologist.
“
I just ran a calculation in two
hours that would have taken 14
hours before we installed the
cluster and my computer is about
four times faster than most.”
In comparison, he notes, “A
typical home PC has around 500
gigabytes (GB), or .5 terabytes
(
TB) of disk space. This computer
cluster has 80 TB of disk storage
and contains 70 times the number
of microprocessor cores and 256
times the system memory of that
home computer.” (Translation: a
really big, really powerful, really
fast computer.)
Labeda adds, “The use of
the computational power
provided by the cluster has been
greatly simplified for the end
users through the acquisition
of cutting-edge yet extremely
user-friendly bioinformatics
software that permits relatively
easy assembly and analysis of
genome sequences.” (Translation:
It can be fairly easy to use if you
have a Ph.D. in microbiology or
genetics.)
CONTINUED ON PAGE 48
(
Photo by Kate O’Hara) Dr. Chris Dunlap readies the genome sequencer to begin collecting
DNA genetic data from a bacterial strain during research at the Peoria Ag Lab.
