Plant Research International, a division of Wageningen UR, and Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX), the global leader in multiplex solutions in diagnostics, have signed a licensing agreement for the use of xMAP® technology. This will allow Plant Research International to further extend its research and product portfolio. The institute expects xMAP to result in new technological breakthroughs in several fields, such as the multiplex detection of plant and animal toxins and pathogenic micro-organisms, and marker assisted plant breeding.
Illustrations: Image 1: The detector of the Luminex analyzer, with simultaneous detection of the unique colour of the beads to which specific antibodies are attached, and the ‘reporter’ signal of the organisms for which it being tested.
Image 2-4: Colouring of the bacteria
Luminex develops technologies and methods widely applied in diagnostics. The company’s xMAP technology uses fluorescent, microscopic beads, which can be detected individually by means of laser beams.
This technology allows samples of products and raw materials to be simultaneously examined for a large number of pathogens, proteins or DNA structures. The xMAP technology has already been successfully applied at authoritative clinical laboratories and in the development of new medicines by the pharmaceutical industry.
The xMAP technology is a major improvement on the well-known ELISA method, which detects only one micro-organism, protein or DNA structure at a time. Using xMAP simplifies the preparation of samples, allows for more sensitive readings and considerably reduces labour costs.
Plant Research International expects the use of xMAP technology to lead to a breakthrough in multiplex detection of pathogens, DNA markers and more. Together with interested parties, the institute will be developing various new applications as well as diagnostic kits for the agricultural and food industries.
The first diagnostic kit for plant pathogenic micro-organisms based on the Luminex xMAP technology will be available soon from Prime Diagnostics®, producer of plant diagnostic materials and a part of PRI.
Publications:
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Bergervoet, J.H.W., Peters, J., van Beckhoven, J.R.C.M., van den Bovenkamp, G.W., Jacobson, J.W. and van der Wolf, J.M., 2008.
Multiplex microsphere immuno-detection of potato virus Y, X and PLRV.
Journal of Virological Methods 149, 63-68.
- Peters, J., Sledz, W., Bergervoet, J.H.W. and van der Wolf, J.M., 2007.
An enrichment microsphere immunoassay for the detection of Pectobacterium atrosepticum and Dickeya dianthicola in potato tuber extracts.
European Journal of Plant Pathology 117, 97-107.