Illumina and LGC Biosearch Technologies join forces to drive genomic innovation in agriculture

Amid rising agricultural complexity and the push for sustainability, genomics is at the forefront of innovation in breeding practices.

Melbourne, 19 September 2024 — Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) a global leader in genomics, and LGC Biosearch Technologies™, a pioneer in agricultural genomics, today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of genomics in agricultural applications. By combining Biosearch Technologies’ targeted genotyping-by-sequencing library preparation methodology (Amp-Seq) with Illumina’s proven and highly scalable sequencing technology, the partnership aims to deliver innovative solutions to researchers and breeders in the Asia Pacific (excluding China) and Latin America region.

Illumina has a long history of driving advancements in genomics, providing the tools and technologies that have revolutionized many applications, including agriculture. Biosearch Technologies, part of LGC Group’s Diagnostics and Genomics business, is a recognized leader in agricultural genomics, offering a comprehensive range of services and solutions to support plant and animal breeding programs.

“This partnership represents a significant milestone in our mission to empower agricultural researchers and breeders and provide them with the tools they need to improve crop yields and address global food security challenges,” said Dr. Evgeny Glazov, Senior Market Development Manager at Illumina. “By leveraging Biosearch Technologies’ expertise in sequencing-based genotyping and Illumina’s industry-leading sequencing platforms, we can deliver more efficient, accurate, and cost-effective solutions to the agricultural genomics community.”

“We are excited about the opportunities our strategic partnership with Illumina is bringing to agricultural biotechnology. The collaboration will make it easier for both LGC and Illumina customers to access the powerful combination of Biosearch Technologies’ industrial scale targeted genotyping by sequencing technologies like Amp-Seq with both medium and high-capacity Illumina sequencing platforms.“ Joris Parmentier, Associate Portfolio Director from Biosearch Technologies said, “Together we are accelerating breeding programs by increasing the throughput and multiplexing capabilities up to tens of thousands of samples per day and enabling industry leading same-day-sequencing protocols driving an increased rate of genetic gain and a faster route to getting new traits to the market.

The partnership will focus on commercializing innovative genomics-based solutions for various agricultural research and breeding applications in crops and livestock sectors, including:

• Plant breeding: Accelerating the development of new crop varieties with improved traits such as yield, disease resistance, and nutritional quality.
• Animal breeding: Enhancing the genetic merit of livestock for traits such as growth rate, meat quality, and reproductive efficiency.

By combining their strengths, Illumina and Biosearch Technologies aim to make genomics more accessible and affordable for agricultural researchers and breeders worldwide, driving innovation and sustainable food production.

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About LGC Biosearch Technologies
Biosearch Technologies is the comprehensive genomics portfolio from LGC, providing products and services for genomic analysis that support mission critical applications for global customers in agrigenomics. Our integrated tools and technologies enable our customers’ achievements whether through extraction (sbeadex™), oligonucleotides and reagents (KASP™, BHQplus™ probes, BHQ™ Probe Master Mix), and instrumentation (oKtopure™, SNPline, Nexar™, and IntelliQube™). We also offer lab services for extraction, genotyping, targeted genotyping by sequencing (GBS), SSR conversion, Sanger sequencing, and NGS. To learn more, visit: www.biosearchtech.com

About Illumina
Illumina is helping sustain the planet by unlocking the power of the genome. In 2023, we celebrate 25 years of innovation, which has established us as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit illumina.com and connect on X(Twitter),  Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Contacts

LGC Biosearch Technologies:
Business contact: Joris Parmentier, Product Management Associate Director, Applied; joris.parmentier@lgcgroup.com, +31 (0) 621 905 774

Media contact: Magda Bartoszewicz, Director, LGC Group Corporate Communications; magda.barto@lgcgroup.com, +44 (0) 7408 850 514

Illumina:
Lisa Maguire, Director, AMEA Communications, lmaguire@illumina.com, +61.499.328045