RNA Sequencing

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number 12505B21Q0006 is issued as a request for quote (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2021-02. This solicitation will be a 100% Total Small Business Set-Aside. The associated NAICS code is 541380, Testing Laboratories, with a small business size standard of $16.5 Million and the PSC code is B529.The Department of Agriculture (ARS) has the need for the following services:001) RNA Sequencing Service Contract.Scope of Work: The UDSA-ARS Vegetable Crops Research Unit is requesting quotes for the through RNA Sequencing (Transcriptome sequencing, RNA-Seq) of 48 cucumber

samples to study molecular basis of disease resistances and flowering time variation.Background:  We have cloned candidate genes for resistances against the anthracnose, downy mildew pathogens. We have also identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) for flowering time variation) in cucumber. How these genes regulate disease resistances or flowering time. RAN-Seq is a powerful tool to identify important genes and associate regulatory networks controlled by those disease resistance or flowering time genes. We will have developed near isogenic lines (NILs) for each gene or QTL, which can improve the power of RNA-Seq to identify truly relevant genes and regulatory network. The associated cost will be paid by the USDA-NIFA project awarded to the PI (Weng, ARS project # 108-5090-845).Technical Requirements:  The contractor will use the state-of-the-art high throughput Illumina sequencing platform.Government Furnished:The USDA will provide 48 total RNAs samples that meet the quality and quantity specified by the contractor to complete the transcriptome sequencing.Contractor’s Key Personnel:Experience with high throughput mRNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) is required.  Data Rights:  Sequencing data will be provided by through remote FTP downloading. The data must be confidential and provided only to the USDA Vegetable Crops Research Unit, Madison WI.Key Deliverables: Clean transcriptome reads of 48 RNA cucumber samples with associated quality assessment report and sequencing statistics.Delivery:  The service will be completed and the associated quality assessment report and sequencing statistics delivered to the USDA Vegetable Crops Research Unit, Madison WI by April 30, 2021.The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract.Submitting a Quote:To be eligible for consideration for an award, all contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A contractor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or e-mail at www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. A DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number is required in order to register. Vendor must also include their DUNS# on their quote.If you are not currently registered in SAM or your account has become inactive, please register or reactivate your account prior to submitting a quote. If your SAM registration does not contain a certification for the NAICS code specified in this solicitation, please update your SAM account to include the NAICS code prior to submitting a quote. The submission and payment of invoices on the resulting contract will be made through the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). As such, vendors must be currently registered or register in IPP in order to be able to submit and receive payment on invoices for the resulting contract.Offerors responding to this announcement shall submit their quote on SF-18 (see attached). The quote should include all fees, delivery charges, and/or surcharges. This will be a tax-exempt purchase.Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Please email all quotes in writing on the SF-18 to aaron.dimeo@usda.gov by no later than Monday, December 21, 2020 at 12:00 PM Central Standard Time.Questions in regards to this combined synopsis/solicitation must be submitted through email and are due no later than 3:00 PM CST on Wednesday, December 16, 2020. Answers to any questions received by that time will be posted as an amendment to this combined synopsis/solicitation.