Mary Fernandes, Ph.D.

Scientist • Entrepreneur • Co-founder @SolisAgrosci • Executive-in-Residence @BioGeneratorSTL • #agtech #biotech #synbio 🌱🧬🚀

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

Plants are essential for human survival and the health of our planet. Yet, we have genome sequences for less than 0.2% of all plant species. Read a plan to address this https://t.co/Q5wrGgBSju and 🧵 1/15 @Day1Project

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

@timhwang Great idea! There are a few labs working on this. We know of some interesting and tested approaches such as altering lignin biosynthesis or increasing gibberellin biosynthesis but there’s room and funding for more innovative ideas in this space! See https://t.co/row4VHLgwL

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

Please take a moment to vote for this fun and informative panel discussion! @GreaterSTLinc @39N

[Solis Agrosciences @SolisAgrosci]

SXSW Panel Picker is live until Aug 20th and @SolisAgrosci will be featured if you vote for us!
Voting Link: https://t.co/4lPowEsnI2
Title: "Startup Hacks: Unleashing Innovation on a Shoestring Budget"
Here is the link for a free SXSW account sign up
https://t.co/qzadV7oPWR

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

Completely agree @BioMath! When you add the additional capacity from non NovaSeq instruments (@PacBio, @ElemBio etc we should be easily able to sequence millions of genomes! We need a @plantgenome project! https://t.co/Q5wrGgBSju

@Day1Project @unlockaid @USDA @WHOSTP45

[Charlie Johnson 🧬=🌽🦠🌾🐐🌻🍤🌱🦬🍅🦏🌲🦁 @BioMath]

.@Illumina announced that 200 NovaSeqX orders were placed in Q1, and with the competitive pricing offered by labs for X sequencing, it seems a tsunami is about to hit the sequencing core lab market. We are currently experiencing the calm before the storm, with only ripples of what is coming. If we assume that most single NovaSeq facilities will convert to Xs, then market capacity will double. This, coupled with a 44-60% price break with 10B/25B respectively relative to the S4, means that NovaSeq users will have to convert or change brands to remain competitive on price to survive.

In 2020, @Illumina cut Novaseq reagent costs in half, evening the playing field for single NovaSeq labs to be competitive with large outsourcing facilities. This resulted in a massive jump in single NovaSeq labs, and if most of those convert to X, the market capacity will go up by 2.5x. These labs will be looking for ways to use the extra capacity, assuming they were satisfied with one NovaSeq.

Unless demand increases significantly, this year will be tough for labs that cannot afford to buy an X or one of the other short read competitors to reach a competitive price point and keep their customers from looking elsewhere. The last time there was a big buy year was in 2017 with the launch of the NovaSeq. It took a very long time to hit 200 NovaSeq installs, which I used to track on our website. Good luck and hang on for a wild ride.

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

Thank you @unlockaid, @Day1Project for your support and @USDA for driving some of the key aspects forward.

[Unlock Aid @unlockaid]

#ICYMI Last month, @POTUS announced major new biotech & biomanufacturing goals.

Includes many of @maryfbio's proposals on ways to fight global food insecurity, developed at @unlockaid - @Day1Project SDGs Moonshot Accelerator! 👏

Congratulations, Mary!

https://t.co/S76jZNnS4X

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

@GenomeLarry Congratulations @GenomeLarry on an amazing career! I know this next Phase will be just as fantastic! All the best to you and thanks for your friendship!

[39° North @39NorthSTL]

Check out this great Friday news! 🌟

Three 39 North companies were named Startups to Watch in 2023 by @stlouisbiz and INNO.
🌱 @SolisAgrosci
🧫 Peptyde Bio
🔬 Impetus Agriculture

https://t.co/tgqVrxqryK

[Solis Agrosciences @SolisAgrosci]

@SolisAgrosci has had a fantastic time at #PAG30! Thanks to all who stopped by our booth and interacted with us! Thanks to all the speakers and exhibitors! Thanks to Darrin Scherago and the incredible #PAG30 team for all the great work. 🧵1/2

[Solis Agrosciences @SolisAgrosci]

The @SolisAgrosci team is at #PAG30 in San Diego! Stop by Booth #624 to discuss your plant gene editing, plant transformation and plant characterization needs.

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

If you liked this thread, check out another DNA fun fact here, and follow along for more! #PAG30

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

Thought I’d share something interesting about genomes from #PAG30. If you thought all the DNA of an organism can be found in its chromosomes then think again! Extra-chromosomal circular DNAs (eccDNA) are DNAs that are derived from and exist separately from the chromosomes. 🧵1/6

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

Here's another fun DNA fact while I'm at #PAG30! Did you know that some plants and animals have extra chromosomes on top of their normal set?

These are called supernumerary or B chromosomes, and they're a mysterious masterwork of evolution. So why (and how) do they exist? 🧵1/n

[Mary Fernandes, Ph.D. @maryfbio]

By studying B chromosomes more deeply, we can better understand how these seemingly unnecessary genetic accessories have propelled themselves into future generations, and uncover new insights about how they affect organism fitness and evolve over time.

More power to the B! 12/12