MPSS Technology Allows for Discovery of Micro RNAs (miRNA) and Small Interfering RNAs (siRNA) in Any Organism

Lynx Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LYNX) today announced the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a research grant to the University of Delaware to utilize Lynx's Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS(TM)) technology to develop methods to capture and sequence small (21 to 24 ribonucleotides) RNAs on a larger scale than previously possible. This new application will allow researchers to simultaneously discover novel small RNAs and quantify their expression patterns. These non-coding RNAs are primarily involved in degradation of messenger RNAs, but also function in the inhibition of translation and direct silencing of genes via the methylation of genomic DNA. Recent advances in silencing RNA have illustrated important biological roles for siRNAs and miRNAs. This contract will allow Lynx to further develop methods aimed at enhancing understanding of the regulation of transcription and translation in many higher organisms.

"This novel application of MPSS(TM) represents a fundamental breakthrough for the analysis of small RNAs," said Blake Meyers, Ph.D., co-principal investigator on the study with Pamela Green, Ph.D. "We anticipate that these data, as in our two previous NSF-funded studies with Lynx, will lead to fundamental scientific advances and publications that make a substantial contribution to the field. Our preliminary data suggest that most small RNAs have yet to be identified. We believe that existing methods for the identification of small RNAs do not sample the full complexity of small RNAs. However, we believe that MPSS(TM) will solve this problem by allowing us to discover, analyze and sequence small RNAs in greater depth than previously possible or economically feasible with alternative methods."

Located in Newark, Delaware, the University of Delaware was founded in 1743 and is a state-assisted institution of higher learning, with more than 16,000 undergraduates and nearly 3,000 graduate students. It is the major research university in Delaware. The Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI), a unit of the University of Delaware, is a statewide collaboration among universities, state government, and the private sector that houses faculty from diverse University of Delaware departments. It was founded to help establish Delaware as a center of excellence in biotechnology and the life sciences.

Lynx is a leader in the development and application of novel genomic analysis solutions. Lynx's MPSS(TM) instruments analyze millions of DNA molecules in parallel enabling genome structure characterization at an unprecedented level of resolution. As applied to gene expression analysis, MPSS(TM) provides comprehensive and quantitative digital information important to modern systems biology research in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural industries.