MGI Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of MGI Tech Co. Ltd, recently announced its partnership with The University of Queensland (UQ) led Centre for Environmental and Agricultural Solutions to Antimicrobial Resistance (CEAStAR), aiming to combat antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections affecting human health, agriculture, and the environment
MGI's proprietary DNBSEQ technology, renowned for its high accuracy and efficiency in genetic sequencing, plays a pivotal role in CEAStAR's efforts to combat antimicrobial resitance.
"Our goal is to deliver new antimicrobials for animal use, alternative treatments, and advanced detection methods to mitigate the spread of resistant microbes across sectors," said centre director professor Mark Blaskovich, while emphasising the urgent need for alternatives to antibiotics in agriculture and veterinary medicine.
When integrated with MGI's automated laboratory systems, the DNBSEQ technology enables portable, on-site sequencing solutions. These solutions empower rapid detection, surveillance, and monitoring of AMR in diverse environmental settings, including wastewater and agricultural environments.
As part of the CEAStAR initiative, on World Food Day 2023 MGI announced support for an industry-driven graduate research project focused on developing sequencing-based surveillance to monitor antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the water environment.
"We have successfully collaborated with UQ, utilising our cutting-edge sequencing technology to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants and antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater," said director of MGI Australia, Dr Bicheng Yang. "We look forward to expanding this partnership, continuing to develop and apply innovative solutions to combat AMR."
Collaboration announced to combat global AMR crisis
Professor Mark Blaskovich, CEAStAR centre director, Professor Darren Trott, CEAStAR centre deputy director, and Dr Bicheng Yang, director of MGI Australia (from L to R) (Image source: MGI Tech)
