Global Institute for Food Security Genomics Sequencing Platform

University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
What the facility does

Leading-edge technology and service provider, delivering end-to-end solutions for omics data acquisition and analysis.

Areas of expertise

The Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan is a leading genomics and bioinformatics centre delivering advanced omics solutions to researchers and organizations in academia, industry, and government.

Using state-of-the-art sequencing platforms and specialized computational expertise, GIFS provides high-quality genomics, transcriptomics, and bioinformatics services that support scientific discovery, innovation, and evidence-based decision-making. While originally established to advance agriculture and food systems research, GIFS serves clients across a wide range of sectors, helping them generate meaningful insights from complex biological data.

From project design through to publication-ready results, GIFS offers comprehensive scientific and technical support, including experimental design, sample preparation and processing, sequencing, bioinformatics analysis, and data interpretation. Through access to the latest short-read and long-read sequencing technologies, GIFS delivers reliable, scalable, and customized solutions tailored to diverse research objectives.

Research services
  • PacBio Revio HiFi long-read sequencing
  • PacBio LongPlex multiplexing
  • Element AVITI short-read sequencing
  • Illumina NovaSeq X Plus short-read sequencing
  • Short-read whole genome sequencing
  • Long-read whole genome sequencing
  • Targeted sequencing-based genotyping
  • Skim-sequencing-based genotyping (Skim-seq)
  • RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)
Sectors of application
  • Agriculture, animal science and food
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Healthcare and social services
  • Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
  • High-throughput sequencing library preparation: Automate sample and library preparation workflows for next-generation sequencing using robotic liquid handling systems (Hamilton NGS STAR).
  • Short-read DNA and RNA sequencing: Generate high-quality genomic and transcriptomic data for applications including whole-genome sequencing, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), Hi-C sequencing and targeted sequencing using high-throughput short-read sequencing platforms (Illumina NovaSeq X Plus and Element AVITI systems).
  • Long-read sequencing: Generate highly accurate long-read sequencing data for whole-genome sequencing, structural variant detection, haplotype phasing, and transcript isoform analysis (PacBio Revio system).
  • LongPlex multiplexing for PacBio sequencing: Enable cost-effective, high-throughput sequencing of multiple samples through advanced multiplexing workflows (PacBio Revio system).
  • Genotyping: Support genetic analysis through targeted sequencing and skim sequencing (Skim-seq) approaches for breeding, population genetics, and other research applications (Illumina NovaSeq X Plus and Element AVITI systems).
  • Bioinformatics and data analysis: Support genomics and transcriptomics projects through study design, data processing, bioinformatics analysis, interpretation, and generation of publication-ready results.
     
  • National Research Council Canada
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada