River Falls, Wisconsin, USa
March 26, 2012

A recently inked collaboration between the independent seed testing company BioDiagnostics Inc. (BDI) and Douglas Scientific, LLC, a global leader in laboratory automation, promises to open the world of DNA-based testing tools to entirely new audiences in the food and fiber industries.

As the most specific and sensitive method of genetic testing, DNA-based technology has greatly advanced the field of plant breeding in recent years by compressing the time it takes breeders to bring new varieties, inbreds, and hybrids to market. BDI plays an important role in the advancement of this technology by providing a wide range of genetic testing services to the seed industry. This collaboration with Douglas Scientific allows BDI to triple its testing capacity and reduce the cost of each data point by more than half compared to its previous testing methods.

“Though the value of DNA-based testing for plant breeding research has been apparent for some time, it hasn’t been a financially viable option to broad industry segments,” said BDI president Quentin Schultz. “The Array Tape Platform, however, lowers our cost per data point by more than 50 percent, which now makes our DNA-based services affordable to those who couldn’t consider them before.”

DNA-based testing methods are used to detect any known gene in plants and to apply molecular markers for genotyping and molecular breeding. BDI utilizes markers to verify the presence of valuable genes, genetic contamination, adventitious presence, sterility, or to simply generate data that increases a researcher’s understanding about the genetics of a specific plant, inbred, or hybrid.

Partnership to provide showcase site for DNA-testing

BioDiagnostics selected the Douglas Scientific Array Tape Platform as its “next generation” platform to deliver DNA-based testing services to its customers. The Douglas Scientific Array Tape platform is an inline, highly automated, modular system. Its Array Tape is a flexible microplate replacement that can triple throughput capacity while reducing reagent costs by up to 90 percent. This platform greatly improves the speed of high throughput genetic screening, and will allow BDI to generate more than 81,000 data points a day, up from 27,000 previously. The system supplements the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology currently being used within BDI.

The Array Tape Platform opens a new world of potential markets for BDI. “Most crops grown for food or fiber can benefit from this technology – from tree, nut and vine to vegetables, corn and soybeans,” said Schultz. It also offers unmatched flexibility in the number of genetic markers identified and the number of DNA samples tested. With this technology, a plant breeder can choose to test a few DNA samples or thousands, to assay a single marker or a suite of many markers.

BDI will act as a working laboratory showcase and demonstration site for Douglas Scientific equipment. Parties interested in seeing the Array Tape Platform in a working environment now have a venue.

Douglas Scientific, LLC is dedicated to making our world a better place by delivering innovative laboratory automation. Douglas Scientific is positioned as a leader to deliver paradigm shifting innovation and has established an impressive network of technology alliances and is a charter member of MF3 – a consortium of industry and university scientists committed to micro and nano-fluidic research and innovation.

BDI is a leading testing laboratory serving the seed industry around the world. It has developed the most knowledgeable and experienced team of seed technologists in the industry by combining years of agribusiness experience with a strong academic foundation. BDI understands the technology behind the test, and it consults with customers to improve processes in plant breeding and seed production. Research and development at BDI drives innovation to provide new solutions for the ever-changing needs of the seed industry.
 

Website: http://www.seedquest.com/id/b/BioDiagnostics.htm

Published: March 26, 2012