Applied Biosystems™ Axiom™ Genotyping Solution: High-throughput genetic testing for agriculture

Accelerating Precision Breeding for Sustainable Food Security and Resilient Agriculture.

Applied Biosystems™ Axiom™ Genotyping Solution is an advanced genetic testing technology that helps breeders and researchers quickly and accurately identify the best plants, animals, or fish for breeding. It can process thousands of samples per week, is customizable for different species and traits, and delivers precise, reliable results. The system supports faster development of high-yield, disease-resistant, and climate-adapted varieties, making agriculture and aquaculture more productive and sustainable. Its automated workflow makes it easy to use and cost-effective, benefiting large-scale breeding programs and food security efforts.

This technology is pre-validated.

9•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use 8/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: No impact

Under 18: No impact

This technology is developed specifically for persons with molecular biology background/knowledge (scientists)

Women: Positive high

Biodiversity: Not verified

Environmental health: Not verified

Problem

Agricultural productivity: Slow genetic improvement limits national crop and livestock productivity, constraining agricultural growth, farmer incomes, and domestic food production.
Food security: Low agricultural productivity and limited nutritional improvement of staple crops contribute to food insecurity and poor nutrition outcomes.
Disease resilience: Crop and livestock diseases continue to threaten national agricultural production, increasing economic losses and dependence on food imports.
Climate adaptation: Limited characterization and use of genetic diversity reduce the capacity of agricultural systems to adapt to climate change and emerging production challenges.
Breeding system efficiency: Conventional breeding programs require substantial time and public investment before improved varieties and breeds become available to farmers.
Research capacity: Public breeding and research institutions often face inefficient laboratory workflows that reduce the effectiveness and speed of agricultural innovation.
Genetic resource management: Limited monitoring of genetic diversity increases the risk of genetic erosion and weakens the sustainability of national breeding programs.
Agricultural transformation: Slow adoption of modern breeding technologies limits countries' ability to modernize agricultural innovation systems and improve global competitiveness.

Solution

Higher agricultural productivity: Genomic selection enables national breeding programs to accelerate the development of high-yielding crop varieties and livestock breeds that improve agricultural production.
Improved disease resilience: Genetic screening identifies disease- and pest-resistance traits, supporting the development of resilient agricultural systems and reducing production losses.
Conservation of genetic resources: Population analysis and multi-species genotyping help characterize, conserve, and sustainably utilize national genetic resources.
More efficient public breeding programs: High-throughput, automated genotyping reduces breeding time and public research costs while increasing the efficiency of national breeding initiatives.
Climate-smart breeding: High-density marker analysis enables the development of varieties and breeds with improved climate resilience, nutritional value, and productivity.
Food and nutrition security: Genomic breeding supports the development of higher-yielding and nutrient-rich crops, as well as more productive livestock, contributing to national food security objectives.
Modernized research infrastructure: Integrated genomic platforms strengthen laboratory capacity, improve data quality, and enhance the performance of national agricultural research systems.
Sustainable breeding systems: Parentage verification and genetic diversity monitoring protect breeding populations and ensure the long-term sustainability of national improvement programs.

Key points to design your project

Applied Biosystems™ Axiom™ Genotyping Solution addresses critical challenges in improving agricultural productivity, livestock health, and genetic resilience. By enabling rapid and precise genetic analysis, it supports sustainable breeding practices, enhances food security, and aligns with national and global development goals.

Steps to Integrate This Technology into Your National or Regional Projects:

Assess Project Needs
- Determine the scale of genotyping required based on breeding program goals.
- Consider costs and availability of Axiom™ arrays, reagent kits, and GeneTitan™ instruments.
Budget Planning
- Include expenses for procurement, shipping, customs duties, and local logistics.
- Plan for ongoing costs such as consumables and maintenance.
Capacity Building and Training
- Develop comprehensive training programs for agricultural scientists, lab technicians, and breeders.
- Ensure ongoing technical support to maintain high-quality operations.
Awareness and Communication
- Prepare educational materials (brochures, videos, workshops) to promote understanding and correct use of the technology among stakeholders.
- Engage with farmer groups and extension services to maximize adoption.
Partnership and Collaboration
- Work with agricultural research institutes, veterinary labs, agro-dealers, and extension networks to facilitate distribution and implementation.
- Foster public-private partnerships to leverage resources and expertise.

By adopting the Axiom™ Genotyping Solution, governments can accelerate breeding programs, improve resilience to diseases and climate change, and strengthen national food security, contributing to sustainable agricultural development.

IP

Unknown

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 9 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: validated

Level of use 9 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
South Africa	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Enhances food security by enabling development of high-yield, disease-resistant, and climate-adapted crops and livestock.

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Improves animal and plant health, reducing disease-related losses and supporting healthier livelihoods.

Goal 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure

Promotes innovation in agricultural biotechnology through advanced, accessible genotyping technology.

Goal 13: climate action

Supports resilience to climate change by maintaining and enhancing genetic diversity in breeding programs.

Sample Collection and Preparation
- Collect a small DNA sample from plants (leaves, seeds), animals (blood, hair), or aquaculture species (fin clips).
- Extract and purify the DNA using an appropriate DNA isolation kit.
Loading DNA onto Axiom™ Arrays
- Apply the purified DNA samples onto customized Axiom™ genotyping microarrays, which can contain up to millions of genetic markers.
Automated Processing with the GeneTitan™ System
- Use the GeneTitan™ Multi-Channel instrument to automate DNA amplification, hybridization, washing, and scanning of the arrays.
- The system can process 96 to 384 samples simultaneously, with throughput reaching thousands of samples per week.
Data Analysis
- Genetic data are automatically collected and analyzed using the Axiom™ Analysis Suite software, which performs genotyping and identifies genetic variations.
- The software provides an easy-to-use interface for visualizing results and pinpointing markers of interest.
Making Breeding Decisions
- Based on the genetic profiles generated, breeders and researchers select the best-performing plants or animals with desired traits such as higher yield, disease resistance, or climate adaptability.