Plant Research International B.V, 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(r)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.
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(r), producer of plant diagnostic materials and a part of PRI.

Publications
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.


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