NEW YORK, April 10 - Lynx Therapeutics today said it will use its Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing in a service agreement with Northeastern University to study the regulation of gene-expression in Antarctic icefish.
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Lynx will receive payments for the genomic-discovery services it performs on samples provided by Northeastern's Department of Biology and Marine Science Center, Lynx said.
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Because they are the only vertebrate taxonomic group that does not produce red blood cells or hemoglobin, Antarctic icefish may provide a unique model system for determining the genetic regulation of blood cell formation--a process conserved from fish to humans.
Northeastern researchers will use the MPSS tool to analyze the icefish kidney, which they said "should provide comprehensive, quantitative" gene-expression profiles. It is hoped that this research may lead to new treatments and diagnostics for anemia, neutropeniea, and leukemia.