Madison, Wisconsin, USA
September 17, 2025
DNASTAR has announced the release of Lasergene 18.1, the latest version of its bioinformatics software suite. The update introduces new capabilities for variant detection, protein modeling, and multi-sample comparison, along with improvements that make it easier for researchers to analyze and interpret complex biological data.
This release delivers important benefits across genomics, molecular biology, and protein analysis. For researchers studying cancer or germline variation, the integration of trusted methods from the Broad Institute’s GATK toolkit, including MuTect2 and HaplotypeCaller, improves the ability to separate true variants from sequencing noise. The result is greater accuracy and confidence in identifying mutations that may be clinically or biologically significant.
Lasergene 18.1 also continues the evolution of GenVision Pro into a comprehensive genome browser. By making it easier to bring together data from multiple experiments, compare across groups, and refine variant sets on the fly, GenVision Pro enables researchers to interpret complex studies such as tumor/normal comparisons, treatment vs. control groups, or population cohorts more effectively.
For protein scientists, the addition of Boltz-2 protein modeling provides more powerful ways to explore structure and interactions. These capabilities help users understand protein behavior with greater precision, supporting applications ranging from functional biology to therapeutic design.
“Our goal with Lasergene 18.1 was to make the science easier, not harder,” said Matthew Keyser, Senior Product Manager at DNASTAR. “By integrating tools like MuTect2 and Boltz-2 into the software, researchers don’t have to wrestle with command-line workflows or separate programs. Everything is built into one environment, so they can focus on asking the right questions and interpreting the results.”
Dr. Venkat Balakrishnan, Director of Commercial Operations at DNASTAR, added, “Our customers are under pressure to generate results quickly and with confidence. The advances in Lasergene 18.1 directly address that need—whether it’s cancer researchers relying on accurate variant calls, or protein scientists needing better models to guide their work. We see this release as another step in helping labs of all sizes translate data into meaningful discoveries.”
A full list of enhancements and updates can be found in the Lasergene 18.1 release notes.
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