Hayward, California
November 15, 2001
Lynx Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYNX) announced today a
major collaborative research agreement with the University of
California, Davis, to study gene expression in the extensively
studied model plant, Arabidopsis. This two-year, million dollar
study organized by Dr. Blake Meyers at the University of
California, Davis, is supported by the U.S. National Science
Foundation. These experiments will exploit the power of
"signature sequencing" in plants for gene discovery and
expression analysis and will constitute the first genome-wide
expression data set for plants. Through the grant, Lynx will
receive payments for the analyses of the Arabidopsis samples
provided by Dr. Meyers.
The collaboration features the application of Lynx's Massively
Parallel Signature Sequencing, or MPSS(TM), technology to
analyze genes expressed in different Arabidopsis tissues on a
genome-wide scale. The parties expect that the genomic
information generated through this project will be freely
accessible via the Internet, and the Web interface will provide
tools for genome annotation, identification of differentially
expressed genes and comparisons to microarray data. The parties
anticipate that these quantitative gene expression data will
provide a new and important resource for the community of plant
biologists, because studies at Lynx have already demonstrated
that many more genes expressed at low levels can be detected
with MPSS(TM) technology than with microarrays, and that many
signature sequences detected with MPSS(TM) technology are
derived from unannotated regions of the genome.
Arabidopsis has been studied extensively and offers important
advantages for basic research in genetics and molecular biology
because of its rapid life cycle, the availability of genomic
resources, such as the complete genome sequence and a large
number of mutant lines, and efficient methods for transformation
and reverse genetics.
"MPSS(TM) technology offers an unparalleled opportunity to
explore and decipher the transcriptional activity of a plant
genome," said Dr. Meyers, principal investigator on the study.
"With the recently completed genomic sequence of the model
plant, Arabidopsis, nearly every expressed gene can be uniquely
identified with the MPSS(TM) signature sequences. For many
reasons, I believe that MPSS(TM) technology is a significant
advancement over current methods, such as microarrays, for
large-scale gene expression analysis. I am pleased to be working
with Lynx and look forward to the scientific discoveries that
await us in the MPSS(TM) data. Through the database of MPSS(TM)
signature sequences, plant biologists will be able to study the
expression of their genes of interest in certain tissues and
better design their experiments before they go into the lab."
"This collaboration provides a wonderful opportunity for UC
Davis to perform one of the services that it does best," said
the campus' Vice Chancellor for Research, Barry M. Klein. "We
coordinate the resources of private industry and the federal
government to perform highly valuable cutting edge research.
We're very excited about Dr. Meyers' work."
"We are pleased that our MPSS(TM) technology continues to secure
active interest from the academic community. We believe that
MPSS(TM) uniquely overcomes the considerable limitations of the
gene microarray format, since it delivers comprehensive,
quantitative and precise gene expression information," said Dr.
Norrie Russell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lynx.
"We expect this collaboration with a world-class institution,
alongside our existing academic collaborations, will continue to
showcase the power of Lynx's technologies."
Lynx is a leader in the development and application of novel
technologies for the discovery of gene expression patterns and
genomic variations important to the pharmaceutical,
biotechnology and agricultural industries. These technologies
are based on the Megaclone(TM) technology, Lynx's unique and
proprietary cloning procedure, which transforms a sample
containing millions of DNA molecules into one made up of
millions of micro-beads, each of which carries approximately
100,000 copies of one of the DNA molecules in the sample.
Megaclone(TM) technology is the foundation for Lynx's analytical
applications, including: Massively Parallel Signature
Sequencing, or MPSS(TM), technology, which provides gene
sequence information and high-resolution gene expression data;
Megasort(TM) technology, which provides differentially expressed
gene sets; and
Megatype(TM) technology, which is expected to provide single
nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP, disease- or trait-association
information. Lynx is also developing a proteomics technology,
Protein ProFiler(TM), which aims to provide high-resolution
analysis of complex mixtures of proteins from cells or tissues.
For more information, visit Lynx's web site at
www.lynxgen.com.
Company news release
N3955
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