Information about the Trust:
The Kirkhouse Trust was set up in September 2000. It is a Scottish charity (No. SC 030508). Its purposes, as outlined in its Trust Deed are, in brief, to promote education and research in the Natural Sciences but in particular education and research in the biological and medical sciences.
The Trustees have identified agricultural crop improvement research for the developing world as as their current focus which they will support through a programme of scholarships, fellowships and grants for collaborative research projects.The Trust's area for research support is legumes, and there needs to be an exceptional reason for it to agree to provide support for research projects on other crops. An overarching objective is to strengthen and promote research skills in the developing world, and therefore the Trust is interested in schemes which link research projects with the training of scientists e.g. in modern molecular methods or crop improvement, such as marker assisted selection.
The Trust has been funded by gift aid donations from Oxford Gene Technology IP Ltd, a UK company founded by Professor Sir Ed Southern.
Press Releases
The Kirkhouse Trust Initiates Agreement to Sequence Important Crop Genome
Oxfordshire, UK - May 9th, 2006
The Kirkhouse Trust, a UK-based charity committed to improving agricultural crop research for the developing world, announced today the initiation of an agreement to sequence the cowpea genome, a major food source for the majority of the people in West Africa. Under the agreement, researchers at University of Virginia will use proprietary GeneThresherŪ technology, contracted nonexclusively from Orion Genomics, to reveal DNA sequence tags for greater than 90 percent of cowpea genes in the 1x sequence of the 'gene space'. The project, curated by Michael P. Timko, Ph.D., Professor of Biology at the University of Virginia, is expected to advance the development of disease- and pest-resistant cowpea plants.
"The cowpea plant is a major source of protein for people in West Africa," said Professor Timko. "Unfortunately, like other major food crops, cowpea is susceptible to diseases, parasites, and harsh environmental conditions that decrease its production. The use of Orion Genomics' novel technologies will enable the quick and cost-efficient sequencing of the cowpea genome. This information will be made available by the Kirkhouse Trust to agricultural researchers worldwide, greatly enhancing cowpea genetic improvement."
Plant genomes are prohibitively large to sequence using standard sequencing methods because they include a relatively large amount of "junk" DNA. Orion Genomics' GeneThresherŪ methylation filtering technology enables cost-effective and rapid genomic sequencing of large and complex important crop genomes by removing methylated DNA and leaving only the portion of the genome that contains genes.
The data will be made available to researchers throughout the sequencing project and can be accessed from the Cowpea Genomics Initiative (CGI) website at: http://cowpeagenomics.med.virginia.edu/
The website will provide sequence information from the gene space clones, bioinformatics analysis, and other relevant information.
About Kirkhouse Trust
The Kirkhouse Trust was established in 2000 to promote education and research in the natural sciences with emphasis in the biological and medical sciences. Agricultural crop improvement research is the primary focus of the Trust and is supported through a network of scholarships, fellowships and grants for collaborative research projects. The Trust is funded by gift aid donations from Oxford Gene Technology IP Ltd.
About the University of Virginia
The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and ranks among the top public universities in the United States. UVA has strong multi-disciplinary programs in morphogenesis and regenerative medicine; nano and quantum science and technology; information technology; conservation and culture; and aging. UVA is committed to achieving international pre-eminence in select science and technology research fields, including genomics.
About Orion Genomics
Orion Genomics, the Second Code biotechnology company, develops molecular diagnostic products to detect cancer at its earliest stages and to aid in appropriate therapy selection. Orion's unique methylation detection technologies, MethylScope and MethylScreen, are the most effective technologies for the identification and interpretation of abnormal epigenetic patterns of genes. Orion's GeneThresherŪ technology quickly and cost effectively elucidates large and complex plant genomes and has been used to sequence a host of important crop genomes. Orion Genomics is located in the Center for Emerging Technologies in St. Louis. For more information, visit us at http://www.oriongenomics.com/
| 
