Discover the diversity that drives adaptive immunity
From full-length T-cell receptor (TCR) and B-cell receptor (BCR) repertoires to HLA typing, HiFi sequencing enables researchers to uncover novel alleles, structural variants, and cell-type-specific expression patterns missed by other sequencing technologies. These insights are powering discoveries in vaccine development, autoimmune disease research, cancer immunotherapy, and transplant matching. With exceptional read accuracy and the ability to resolve complex regions of the genome and transcriptome, PacBio HiFi sequencing provides the clarity needed to advance precision immunology and improve human health.
EXPLORE IMMUNOLOGY WEBINARS
Precision immunogenic profiling in cancer with HiFi sequencing
In this webinar, learn how HiFi-empowered immunogenomic profiling can identify variants linked to therapeutic response and immune-related adverse events (IRAEs). These insights can advance biomarker discovery, inform drug development, and move us closer to more precise and effective cancer immunotherapies.
HiFi sequencing and immune diversity in vaccine response
In this PRISM recorded talk, Melissa Smith, CEO of Clareo Biosciences, explains how HiFi sequencing is essential for understanding the vast genetic diversity in human immune repertoires. This detailed characterization provides critical insights into vaccine efficacy and autoimmune disease by uncovering genetic variation previously missed by other technologies.
Resolving HLA haplotypes with long-read capture
In this PacBio PRISM talk, Dr. Omar Cornejo of UC Santa Cruz details an efficient long-read hybrid capture method designed to resolve complex Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) haplotypes. This approach addresses the significant challenges posed by the extreme polymorphism and structural complexity of the HLA region, which have traditionally hindered accurate characterization with short-read technologies.
Blog
The HiFi difference – immunology with a FLAIRR
Antibodies are the work horses of the adaptive immune system, identifying and neutralizing foreign objects like bacteria and viruses, and thereby are central to the science of immunology. In this publication by Dr. Melissa Smith & colleagues from the University of Louisville, entitled FLAIRR-seq: A novel method for single molecule resolution of near full-length immunoglobulin heavy chain repertoires, describes a new gold standard to characterize expressed antibody repertoires.
High-resolution HLA typing using Qiagen targeted panel
The QIAseq xHYB Long Read HLA Typing Panel offers complete coverage of both HLA class I and class II alleles, enabling high-resolution 4-field haplotyping across 18 full-length HLA genes. This comprehensive panel targets entire gene sequences, including introns and UTRs, for accurate and unambiguous typing and HLA characterization for transplantation, immunogenetics, and disease association studies
Customer success story
Helping to improve bone marrow transplant outcomes with better HLA typing
Hear researchers describe how they have used PacBio sequencing for HLA typing research in the context of bone marrow transplant donor matching.
Watch the video Read the blog Read the paper
Publication highlight
Targeted IGH germline sequencing reveals population diversity
Targeted human immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) allele sequencing of 154 healthy individuals of diverse ancestry identified novel structural variants and alleles missed by short reads, providing a foundation of studying population-level IGH variation.
FAQs
Immunogenomics is the study of how genetic variation influences the immune system, which in the human genome includes the HLA / MHC genes, KIR genes, T cell receptor (TCR), and B cell receptor (BCR), among others, and seeks to understand how diversity in these complex, highly polymorphic regions shapes immune recognition, disease susceptibility, transplant compatibility, vaccine response, and outcomes in infection, autoimmunity, and cancer.
HiFi long-read sequencing enables highly accurate, full-gene HLA typing with phased alleles across exons, introns, and UTRs in a single assay. HiFi reads deliver 99.9% accuracy and long read lengths, allowing 4-field resolution and beyond, improved detection of novel alleles, unambiguous phasing, and comprehensive characterization of complex HLA loci—critical for transplant matching, immunogenomics research, and population studies.
You can use a targeted probe enrichment-based approach such as the Qiagen QIAseq xHYB Long Read HLA Typing Panel, or, if a PCR-free approach is desired, consider using a custom HLA guide with the PureTarget kit.
HiFi sequencing provides near-full-length clonotyping of T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR) transcripts, enabling complete V(D)J characterization, precise clonotype resolution, and accurate detection of somatic hypermutation and isotypes. Unlike short-read methods, HiFi captures entire immune receptor sequences in single reads, improving immune repertoire profiling for cancer immunotherapy, vaccine research, and adaptive immune monitoring.
You can implement the method described in the FLAIRR-Seq publication, or contact ClareoBio for more information.