Copenhagen, Denmark, and Shenzhen, China, Wednesday, 15 November 2013 – Carlsberg Laboratory, created in 1875, and BGI Tech Solutions Co., LTD, (BGI Tech), a subsidiary of BGI, the world's largest genomics research organization, jointly announce their partnership to decode the DNA sequence of barley chromosome 6 with the aim to provide a valuable resource for the development of new barley cultivars.
Knowledge of DNA sequence information is central to the development of fast and modern breeding strategies and for unlocking the full potential of genetic variations for future crop improvement. Unfortunately for barley, the amount of DNA in each cell of a barley plant is almost double the amount found in human and 12 times larger than in rice.
In this collaborative study, researchers will sequence the DNA from chromosome number 6 of the seven barley chromosomes. BGI Tech will provide powerful sequencing platforms and experienced analysis, and Carlsberg Laboratory, in association with the International Barley Sequencing Consortium, will be responsible for sample preparation and evaluation of results.
"We are delighted by the prospect of a strong synergistic collaboration between Carlsberg and BGI Tech. With Carlsberg Laboratory's world-class team of researchers and BGI's powerful genomic capacity, I believe we will succeed faster and gain more achievement than alone." said, Dr. Xu Yang, Chief Operating Officer of BGI Tech, "We would like to collaborate with more researchers in Europe to better accelerate the genomic studies on human health, agriculture, bio-energy as well as other innovative research."
"This is a great opportunity to build on our relationship with BGI and form long-term collaboration with a strong DNA sequencing organization" said Carlsberg Vice President of Research and Development, Jean-Yves Malpote. "Carlsberg has a long tradition of groundbreaking scientific achievements and we are currently focusing on megatrend challenges like global climate warming and associated problems related to food production and security of raw material sourcing. Knowledge of the DNA sequence of barley will give us a leading edge for the future to deliver new barley cultivars with additional value in the entire chain from farmers to our consumers.
About Carlsberg Group
The Carlsberg Group is one of the leading brewery groups in the world, with a large portfolio of beer and other beverage brands. The flagship brand – Carlsberg – is one of the best-known beer brands in the world and the Baltika, Carlsberg and Tuborg brands are among the top six biggest brands in Europe. More than 41.000 people work for the Carlsberg Group, and its products are sold in more than 150 markets. In 2012, the Carlsberg Group sold approximately 120 million hectolitres of beer, equivalent of approx. 36 billion bottles of beer.
About BGI
BGI was founded in 1999 with the mission of being a premier scientific partner to the global research community. The goal of BGI is to make leading-edge genomic science highly accessible through its investment in infrastructure that leverages the best available technology, economies of scale, and expert bioinformatics resources. BGI, which includes both private non-profit genomic research institutes and sequencing application commercial units, and its affiliates, BGI Americas, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, and BGI Europe, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, have established partnerships and collaborations with leading academic and government research institutions as well as global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, supporting a variety of disease, agricultural, environmental, and related applications.
BGI has established a proven track record of excellence, delivering results with high efficiency and accuracy for innovative, high-profile research which has generated over 250 publications in top-tier journals such as Nature and Science. These accomplishments include sequencing one percent of the human genome for the International Human Genome Project, contributing 10 percent to the International Human HapMap Project, carrying out research to combat SARS and German deadly E. coli, playing a key role in the Sino-British Chicken Genome Project, and completing the sequence of the rice genome, the silkworm genome, the first Asian diploid genome, the potato genome, and, most recently, have sequenced the human Gut metagenome, and a significant proportion of the genomes for 1,000 genomes. For more information about BGI please visit http://www.genomics.cn.
About BGI Tech
BGI Tech provides advanced multi-omics and bioinformatics service solutions for its global customers in biomedical, agricultural, and environmental areas. BGI Tech is a subsidiary company of BGI, BGI Tech delivers rapid, cost-effective and high-quality results that enable researchers to achieve scientific breakthroughs. For more information about BGI Tech, please visit, http://bgitechsolutions.com/
Contact
BGI- Bicheng Yang, Public Communication Officer, yangbicheng@genomics.cn, Tel:+86-755-82639701
BGI - Ms. Catherine Wen Gao, Marketing Communication manager, BGI Europe gaowen@genomics.cn Tel: +45 81730147
Carlsberg Group, Jens Bekke, VP Communication, jens.bekke@carlsberg.com, Tel:+45 22611412