At 2009 BIO International Convention in Atlanta, Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp) and DNA LandMarks have signed an agreement to form a strategic collaboration in marker-assisted breeding technology.
The initial focus will be on rice and cucurbit crops - a plant family including squashes and melons - with farm animal species to be added going forward.
BiotechCorp, a national leader in biotechnology development, is seeking to enrich Malaysia's plant and livestock breeding programmes with DNA marker-assisted selection technology.
''After extensive consultation with the country's agricultural breeding stakeholders and an international search of technology partners, BiotechCorp has selected DNA LandMarks to collaborate with in this development project,'' said Y.Bhg Dato' Iskandar Mizal Mahmood, CEO of BiotechCorp.
''The scope of the project will span DNA marker discovery and validation through to the development of high-throughput genotyping platforms in Malaysia,'' said DNA LandMarks CEO, Dr. Joachim Richert.
The services provided by DNA LandMarks will deliver immediate benefit to Malaysian breeders and agriculture in general. Simultaneously, the company will train Malaysian scientists and provide required technology to rapidly establish expertise locally. DNA LandMarks will also support the setup of a state-of-the-art genomics institute to be known as the Center for Marker Discovery and Validation.
''This collaboration will help us achieve our strategic vision of driving the agricultural sector forward by adopting biotechnology as a key enabler,'' said Y.Bhg Dato' Iskandar Mizal Mahmood.
DNA LandMarks Inc. specialises in DNA marker development and applications, and offers a full array of marker technologies to the agricultural sector. DNA LandMarks is a unit of BASF Plant Science and its Centre of Excellence for DNA sequencing and genotyping.
BiotechCorp is a development agency for the biotech industry in Malaysia and acts as a central contact point providing support, facilitation and advisory services for biotech and life sciences company in Malaysia.
