Wageningen, The Netherlands
October 24, 2008
KeyGene announces the expansion of its current new
generation sequencing technology platforms. Earlier this month a
second GS FLX system was installed at KeyGene's headquarters in
Wageningen, The Netherlands. At the same time both systems were
upgraded to the higher throughput GS FLX Titanium systems.
The new investment was prompted by the success of several of the
new sequencing applications of KeyGene, such as the CRoPS® and
KeyPointTM technologies and the increased demand for whole
genome sequencing projects for commercial crop plants. At the
same time KeyGene has made new investments in its Bioinformatics
infrastructure that support the sequence applications and enable
large scale data storage and analysis, including mining of
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and mutant alleles, gene
identification and genome assembly. Identified SNPs are used for
cost effective genotyping and molecular breeding of field,
vegetable and flower crops.
With these new additions and its focus on the plant breeding
industry, KeyGene has positioned itself as the preferred
high-quality research partner to unravel the structures of
larger genomes including that of many plant species. The new
sequencing technologies will allow KeyGene to expand further its
portfolio of next-generation sequencing applications for
commercial crops in a competitive manner, respecting the steep
timelines expected by its customers.
Mark J.J. van Haaren, Vice-President Business Development of
KeyGene: 'Our advanced sequencing and bio-informatics capacity
enabled us to develop new applications such as a novel whole
genome sequencing procedure of smaller to mid-sized plant
genomes as well as SNP mining and mutant screening technologies.
With these applications at hand, KeyGene is well positioned to
help solve the complex genetic challenges that face the modern
plant breeding industry in a competitive manner.'
Michiel van Eijk, Vice-President Upstream Research adds: 'The
upgrade of our High Throughput sequencing capacity follows the
need for new sequence based applications for the plant breeding
industry. In pursue of our vision of Sequence Based Breeding we
have developed several new applications based on the new
generation sequencing technologies. Our experience in
constructing and analyzing large datasets is now providing us
with additional and competitive advantages.'
Keygene N.V. is a R&D company with the mission to be the
leading company in developing and applying DNA expertise in the
field of molecular genetics with a focus on crop plants. In
recent years KeyGene invested in next generation sequencing
platforms such as the Roche GS-FLX system (454 technology) and
the Illumina Genome Analyzer (Solexa technology). KeyGene has
developed a strong proprietary Molecular Breeding platform
including AFLP,® a DNA marker technology for genome analysis,
transcript profiling and genetic analysis. For diagnostic
purposes, SNPWave® a multiplexed SNP detection technology was
developed. KeyGene exploits its proprietary technologies,
databases and know-how through contract research and products
for applications in the Life Sciences industry and more
specifically in innovative breeding applications such as
Breeding by DesignTM, CRoPS®, a high throughput SNP discovery
technology and KeyPointTM, a mutant screening technology.
KeyGene has around 130 researchers and staff.
The AFLP®, SNPWave®, CRoPS® and KeyPoint™ technologies are
covered by patents and/or patent applications of Keygene N.V.
AFLP,
SNPWave and CRoPS are registered trademarks of Keygene N.V.
Applications for trademark registration for Breeding by Design,
KeyPoint and KeyGene have been filed by Keygene N.V. |
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