The UK government is investing 4.75 million pounds to launch SequenceME, the world’s largest genomics study of ME/CFS, sequencing up to 6,000 patients to create a high-resolution genetic map and advance diagnostics and treatments.

SequenceME builds on DecodeME, which established the largest ME/CFS research cohort and laid the groundwork for large-scale genomic analysis, reinforcing the UK’s leadership in genomic research.

The project will perform long-read whole-genome sequencing on up to 6,000 ME/CFS patient samples to identify biological causes and develop diagnostics and treatments.

Personal impacts of ME/CFS are highlighted through patient experiences, underscoring the need for better diagnosis, recognition, and treatment options.

The initiative aims to identify genetic causes and biological mechanisms of ME/CFS, improving understanding of immune and nervous system responses to triggering infections and paving the way for biomarkers and targeted therapies.

Key stakeholders, including health ministers and ME advocacy groups, call this investment a historic step toward addressing decades of neglect in ME/CFS research and care.

Experts project that deep genome sequencing of 6,000 participants will help identify specific genes disrupted in ME/CFS and clarify patterns of inheritance, potentially enabling more precise diagnoses and treatments.

Long-read sequencing is expected to pinpoint individual disrupted genes, reveal familial inheritance patterns, and drive more precise diagnoses and personalized therapies.

DecodeME investigators and ME advocacy leaders view the funding as a major advance for ME/CFS research, with promise for better diagnostics and treatments.

The funding is part of a broader ME/CFS strategy, including NIHR-supported feasibility studies for clinical trials on post-acute infection syndrome interventions and a HERITAGE study to improve care for long COVID and ME/CFS.

SequenceME will deliver an unprecedented dataset to improve understanding of disease mechanisms, aid biomarker identification, and support targeted treatment development.

SequenceME aims to create a high-resolution genetic map using long-read sequencing to detect rare genetic changes, structural variations, and epigenetic features.