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Lynx and the University of California, Davis to generate genome-wide plant gene expression data

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.
 

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