BGI Tech, Carlsberg Laboratory join hands to study barley DNA

Carlsberg Laboratory and BGI Tech Solutions on Friday announced their decision to jointly decode the DNA sequence of barley to aid the development of new barley cultivars. The knowledge of the DNA sequence of barley is expected to add value in the entire chain from farmers to consumers by helping discover fast, modern breeding strategies, said the two companies. In this collaborative study, researchers will sequence the DNA from chromosome number 6 of the seven barley chromosomes. BGI Tech, a subsidiary of BGI - the world's largest genomics research organization - will provide sequencing platforms and analysis, while the Carlsberg Laboratory, in association with the International Barley Sequencing Consortium, will be responsible for sample preparation and evaluation of results. "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, CEO of BGI Tech. "This is a great opportunity to build on our relationship with BGI and a form long-term collaboration with a strong DNA sequencing organization," Carlsberg vice president of R&D Jean-Yves Malpote said. The Carlsberg Group, which owns the laboratory, is one of the leading brewery groups in the world with a large portfolio of beer and other beverage brands such as Carlsberg and Tuborg. The BGI was founded in 1999 with the mission of being a premier scientific partner to the global research community.