SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals or quotes and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. This notice is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or an obligation or commitment by the Government, nor is it a Request for Quote (RFQ) at this time. Responses to this Notice must be in writing. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to conduct market research to determine the capability of Small Business and/or Large Business companies to provide the supplies/services described below. Contractor/vendor responses to this notice shall include the following: (a) company name; (b) address; (c) point of contact; (d) phone, fax and email; (e) DUNS Number; (f) Cage Code; (g) socioeconomic category (i.e., small business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.); (h) a technical/capability statement as well as your existing customers, and (i) any GSA Schedule numbers and expiration dates. Department of Agriculture (ARS) requests responses from ALL socioeconomic categories in order to gain a more complete understanding of the market for these services. The Department of Agriculture (ARS) has the need for the following service: 001) Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Genotyping (of 250 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Across 288 Onion DNAs) Background: Onion populations have been developed that segregate for resistance to thrips, the main insect pest of onion. SNPs are a class of robust genetic markers that are useful for establishing the genetic basis of thrips resistance. These SNPs have been developed by the USDA and DNA sequences to detect them have been published and are openly available. Genotypes at SNPs will be used to produce a genetic map to establish the genetic inheritance of the resistance, which will be useful to onion breeders to develop thrips-resistant cultivars. This genotyping project will be paid for by a funded grant from the USDA Organic Research and Extension Initiative. Scope of Work: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Vegetable Crops Research Unit in Madison, WI (USDA-ARS) has a requirement for the genotyping of 288 onion DNAs for 250 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for genetic mapping of insect resistance (three 96-well plates). The SNPs have been developed and validated using the KASPar platform. All primer sequences have been designed and were described in Theor. Appl. Genetics (2013) 126:2093–2101. All DNAs have been isolated and will be provided. Results should be returned as nucleotide genotypes for all DNAs. Results are most desirable by August 1, 2020 or soon after. Description: Contractor will receive purified DNAs from the USDA and will complete genotyping of these DNAs for 250 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Number of DNAs will depend on number of control position that the contractor requires for QC, and is anticipated to be a maximum of 288 and a minimum of 282 DNAs. Technical Requirements/Tasks: The contractor will use the KASP platform to SNP genotype the onion DNAs. The SNPs are optimized for this platform and sequences necessary to genotype each SNP have been established, resulting in a very high probability of good genotyping results. DNAs of parents of the segregating families will be included as the positive controls. Government Furnished: The USDA will provide DNAs of 288 onion DNAs of sufficient quality and quantity to complete the genotyping. Deliverables and Schedule: Deliverable will be 250 SNP genotypes for 288 onion DNAs and the schedule is open to discussion, however we would like the results by August 1, 2020. The contractor is required to provide written progress reports if the genotyping is not completed by August 1, 2020. Key Deliverables: Genotypes for 250 SNPs across 288 onion DNAs; Genetic analysis of insect resistance in onion; due August 1, 2020 Contractor’s Key Personnel: Experience with KASP platform is required. Data Rights: Genotypic data is to provide in the form of an excel spreadsheet with genotypes for all SNPs across all DNAs. The data must be confidential and provided only to the USDA Vegetable Crops Research Unit, Madison WI. Capability Statements: To be eligible, all vendors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) with a current and active registration. A vendor 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 in SAM. Vendor must include their DUNS# on their capability statements. The NAICS code for the expected acquisition is 541380 - Testing Laboratories, with a Size Standard of $16.5 million and the PSC Code is AA91. 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. Please email a capability statements to Aaron Dimeo at
[email protected] by 3:00 p.m. (CST), April 6, 2020. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Please note the “Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Genotyping - ” in the subject line of the email. 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.