CARLSBAD, Calif., June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Life Technologies
Corporation (NASDAQ:
LIFE) today announced that it has developed a custom test
(assay) to accurately detect the E. coli bacterium that has
killed at least 22 people and affected more than 2,100 worldwide,
including four new cases reported in the United States. Shipments
of the TaqMan® E. coli 0104 Detection Kit to test foods
thought to be associated with the outbreak are now in Europe.

“A qPCR-based assay test is the most accurate method to detect
harmful foodborne pathogens because a positive result indicates the
presence of that particular strain’s DNA in the food sample that is
being tested,” said Nir Nimrodi, Head of Food Safety at Life
Technologies. “It is also the fastest. While traditional laboratory
testing methods can take up to 10 days for results, this test can
determine the presence or absence of the European pathogen in 10 to
24 hours, depending on the sample type and size.”

Life Technologies began designing the specially tailored test
last week after company researchers, using samples supplied by
scientists at University Hospital Munster, completed the
DNA sequencing and analysis work on the deadly E. coli
strain using the Ion Personal
Genome Machine (PGM™)

Results from their work, and independently supported by a second
team of researchers in China also using the PGM™, showed that
the E. coli bacterium is a hybrid strain that is resistant
to antibiotics.  It took both teams just three days to
complete the work on the benchtop DNA sequencer.

For research use only.  Not for use in diagnostic
procedures.

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