SWARM®
Simplified Whole-panel Amplification Reaction Method
(SWARM®)
Simplified Whole-panel Amplification Reaction Method (SWARM®)
Simplified Whole-panel Amplification Reaction Method (SWARM®) is a robust and targeted bisulfite sequencing approach, which helps deliver reproducible high-throughput methylation data. The current iteration of the SWARM platform can cover around 1000 selected regions of interest, detecting both epigenetic and genetic information.
It is backed by strong technical support from Zymo Research’s reagent development team and bioinformatics team, who can deliver solutions for needs such as customized reagent supply, optimized multiplex bisulfite primer design software, and standardized sequencing data analysis, among others.
Commercial panels that utilize the SWARM® system include an epigenetic aging clock for humans, offered by Epimorphy as myDNAge, a direct-to-consumer biological age test. More epigenetic aging clock panels have also been developed for research use in mice, dogs, and other animals.
The workflow has enormous potential for clinical applications in biomarker studies beyond aging as well, whether to assess circadian rhythms, arthritis, allergies, forensics, fertility, or diabetes.
The scalability of the technology is also highly flexible. The SWARM® system can be operated within a manual process environment using only essential lab equipment for low throughput, low-cost sample processing. Recent upgrades have been made to fully automate SWARM® operations where needed. The platform has also been approved for use as a highly multiplexed, high throughput, reliable approach for assessing methylated DNA regions in multiple sample types, even with limited material.