The Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has acquired an Illumina NovaSeq X Plus genomics sequencing platform.
The acquisition of the new sequencing platform is supported by nearly $1.63 million from Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) as part of its updated funding agreement with GIFS and USask. This brings PrairiesCan’s total investment for this project to more than $3.2 million.
The PrairiesCan funding will support work to develop a genomic selection-based accelerated breeding platform that enables researchers, companies, and breeding organizations to identify genomics-based solutions more quickly and efficiently.
By expanding advanced breeding capabilities and pooling data across platform users, the initiative will improve the accuracy of statistical models, strengthen Canada’s pulse breeding capacity, and support research in crop development, disease resilience, and livestock genetic traits.
The new Illumina NovaSeq X Plus sequencing platform marks a substantial upgrade over previous tools at GIFS, representing a two-and-a-half times increase in capacity for processing genomic information.
GIFS is the first agricultural-focused organization in the Prairies to offer NovaSeq X Plus sequencing services, positioning the institute as a leader in genomics innovation in Saskatchewan and across Canada. The NovaSeq X Plus is expected to help bring higher-quality pulse varieties to market faster, while reducing resource use and the environmental impact of agriculture.
GIFS will continue to provide leading genomics technology to researchers across USask, Prairie research centres, and beyond.
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