A market survey is being conducted to determine if there are adequate Small Business, SBA certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), Women-Owned, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) contractors available for a proposed project who meet the specific criteria outlined below. This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is not a solicitation Announcement or Request for Quote. It does not constitute any commitment by the Government. No award will result from this notice. The purpose is to conduct market research to gain knowledge of potentially qualified sources and to determine the capability of Small Business and/or Large Business companies to provide the supplies/services described below. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be used by the Government to make an appropriate acquisition decision. Department of Agriculture (ARS) requests responses from ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for these products and service. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will not award a contract on the basis of responses or pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this notice. After completing an analysis of the responses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition to 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, Women-Owned, or other small business firms, or to proceed with issuing an unrestricted solicitation, inviting full and open competition. The NAICS code for the expected acquisition is 541380, with a Size Standard of $16.5 Million and the PSC Code is B529. Any subsequent procurement will be conducted as a commercial item purchased in accordance with FAR Part 12 and as a Simplified Acquisition Procedure in accordance with FAR Part 13. The Department of Agriculture (ARS) has the need for the following services: 001) Hi-Fi PacBio DNA Sequencing of Alfalfa Genomic DNA Scope of Work : The USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Unit (PSRU) in St. Paul, MN are seeking sources for Hi-Fi PacBio DNA sequencing of alfalfa genomic DNA. Background : Developing genomic resources for alfalfa has lagged behind other crop species. There is currently no reference genome for alfalfa cultivars grown in the US. The lack of a reference genome sequence for tetraploid alfalfa impedes progress in molecular breeding methods to improve alfalfa including genomic selection, transgenic approaches to crop improvement, and genome editing. One goal of this project is to identify the core set of genes in alfalfa and the genes that are specific to plants with specific characteristics such as fall dormancy, winter survival and disease resistance. For this reason, we are interested in performing long read DNA sequencing from unique plants. Currently, several core facilities are providing this service and we would like to utilize one of these cores to perform long read DNA sequencing of alfalfa. The service provider will perform Hi-Fi PacBio DNA sequencing of alfalfa genomic DNA from plant samples provided by Plant Science Research Unit located at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. The goal of the ARS project is to identify the core and accessory genomes of alfalfa with emphasis on genes related to fall dormancy, winter survival, and disease resistance. Due to the tetraploid nature of alfalfa, each of the four sets of chromosomes has a different DNA sequence, requiring long reads to identify the four haplotypes. Technical Requirements: Four (4) plant samples will be shipped to the service provider on dry ice. The service provider will perform these specific tasks: Isolate high molecular weight DNA from 4 plant samples as per industry standards for plant species. Perform qualitative analysis to ensure that DNA meets standard sequencing center QC standards for size, quality, and quantity. Prepare DNA libraries for sequencing from the above samples as per the manufacturer’s procedure for Hi-Fi DNA sequencing. Perform single-molecule real-time DNA sequencing using Pacific Biosciences SMRT cell technology on the Sequel IIe, with 30-hour Hi-Fi movies. Generate at least 64 Gb of Circular Consensus Sequence (CCS) DNA sequence data for each sample. Provide all raw and analyzed DNA sequence data for 4 plant samples via secure HTTP download. Delivery schedule: 90 calendar day from the time of contract award. Government Furnished: The service provider is solely responsible for the entire service. There will be no support or use of federal facility by the service provider. The service provider will submit a report to end user at the end of the completion of the service. Data Rights: All the data generated by the vendor belongs to the government. Delivery: All data generated by the vendor will be submitted to Deborah Samac at
[email protected] within 90 calendar days from date of contract award. The vendor shall provide all items F.O.B: destination. Location of the Government site is aboard USDA-ARS St. Paul, MN and will be identified in the contract. The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price contract. Capability Statement: Companies who have the experience, as well as an interest in doing business with ARS, should submit a Capabilities Statement which, for this notice, is not expected to be a proposal, but rather short statements regarding the company’s ability to demonstrate their expertise and experience in relation to the areas specified in this notice. Companies should also indicate whether they are a Small Business, SBA-certified HUBZone, SBA-certified 8(a), SDVOSB, or Women-Owned Small Business. To be eligible, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number is required in order to register in SAM. A vendor can contact SAM by calling 1-866-606-8220 or e-mail at www.sam.gov. NO EXCEPTIONS. Vendor must include their DUNS# on their capability statements. To be eligible, all vendors must also be registered in SAM under the specific NAICS code listed as part of this sources sought. If a prospective vendor is not registered under the specified NAICS code and would qualify to be registered under it then they must update their SAM registration prior to providing a capabilities statement. Finally, to be eligible, all vendors must be NDAA 889 Certified. If they do not currently have a NDAA 889 Certification, then they must complete the attached NDAA 889 Certification form and submit it to
[email protected] so that they can be added to the list of NDAA 889 Certified vendors. Submitting a Capability Statements: Responses should be submitted via email to
[email protected] by Friday, July 30, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. CST . Disclaimer: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Respondents are also advised that under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of information or provide feedback about any of the information received. After review of the responses received, the Government may issue a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation. No proprietary, sensitive, confidential or classified information shall be included with your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation.