Quantum-Si Releases New Study on Human Cohesin Function in Yeast

Quantum-Si Incorporated announced a new manuscript available via pre-print on bioRxiv from researchers out of the University of British Columbia and the B.C. Cancer Research Institute. In the pre-print titled "Heterologous expression of the human cohesin complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae results in a dominant-negative phenotype", the researchers expressed key human chromosome-organizing proteins in yeast cells. They hypothesized that the human cohesins were forming complexes and disrupting the activity of endogenous yeast cohesins. This matters for cancer drug development because problems with cohesin can drive genome instability in tumors, pointing to new ways to target cancer cells. "We are excited to see the first manuscript published by international researchers," said Jeff Hawkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quantum-Si. "In this study, single-molecule protein sequencing enabled the researchers at University of British Columbia and B.C. Cancer Research Institute to directly identify hybrid cohesin complexes, demonstrating the value of our technology as a foundational tool for mechanistic biology research and therapeutic discovery."