2022 was an extraordinary year for BGI-Research. Achievements were made in multiple areas including technology innovation, scientific discovery, and industrial applications of technology.
In 2022, BGI-Research’s proprietary Stereo-seq (SpaTial Enhanced REsolution Omics-sequencing) was further developed, becoming one of the world-leading spatial multi-omics technologies. Meanwhile, BGI-Research initiated the SpatioTemporal Omics Consortium (STOC), aiming at establishing a research community for global scientists to put efforts together in spatio-temporal omics studies.
In 2022, BGI-Research’s scientific research accomplishments led to 112 research papers published in the “CNNS” series (Cell, Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine, Science, and their sister journals). Among them, seven were published in Cell, Nature, and Science. BGI-Research continued to make efforts to digitize life on earth and has contributed to over 39% of the animal and plant genomes sequenced globally by the end of 2022.
In 2022, BGI-Research launched new research branches globally, advancing global cooperation in genomics, Single-cell omics, and Spatio-temporal omics projects with major universities and institutes all over the world.
We invite you to join us to review the milestones in 2022 for BGI-Research.
The SpatioTemporal Omics Consortium (STOC) initiated by BGI-Research attracted more than 190 leading scientists from 30 countries, with the first batch of research papers published on Cell Press and presented on the STOC webpage in the form
of a featured article collection.
Read more:
BGI-Led International Team Releases First Panoramic Atlases of Life in Cell
Based on independently developed Stereo-seq and Single-cell technologies, BGI-Research led and participated in multiple major scientific research projects, which led to one back-to-back cover story in Science, one cover story in Cell, and three articles in Nature. Of note, one of the Nature articles reported for the first time in the world a novel strategy to successfully convert human pluripotent stem cells into the 8-cell totipotent embryo-like cells, paving the way for advances in the study of
early development and organ regeneration.
Read more:
① BGI Groundbreaking Research Results in Cells that May Facilitate Advances in Organ Regeneration
② BGI-led Research Builds the World’s First Spatiotemporal Map of Brain Regeneration
③ International Team Led by BGI Completes First Whole-Body Cell Atlas of a Non-Human Primate
BGI-Research's Spatio-temporal omics achievements were selected as one of the “Top 10 Chinese Scientific Advances for 2022” announced by the China Union of Life Science Societies.
BGI-Research's Spatio-temporal omics technology, Stereo-seq, expanded its applicability to different research areas, pioneering the technology development. The Spatio-temporal omics three-piece model, which consists of the Stereo-seq reagents kit, cloud analysis platform, and STOmics® Stereo-seq integrated hardware, is accelerating the construction of a comprehensive Stereo-seq ecosystem and empowers scientific research in more fields.
With the microchip-based massive in parallel synthesis (mMPS) technology, the mMPS-M200 synthesizer achieved mass production. BGI advanced its technology by mastering the core capability of oligonucleotide synthesis.
The gene synthesis pipeline in BGI-Research achieved complete automation and was upgraded with five-fold increased efficiency, thus providing comprehensive support for large scientific projects.
BGI-Research continued to work on technology innovation in producing raw materials for the bio-industry and on global market exploration. The fine-quality of core products from BGI-Research has earned high appreciation from industry and leading scientific research institutions.
BGI-Research led the establishment of 16 standards, and launched the deployment of the ISO13485 qualification, continuously providing high-quality and standardized products.
BGI-Research led a major project to establish the Spatio-temporal maps of the axolotl brain during regeneration, from which scientists discovered a key neural stem cell subpopulation potentially responsible for mediating the brain regeneration process, thus providing a new direction for future research in regenerative medicine of the central nervous system. The study was published in Science as one of the back-to-back cover stories and selected as one of the “2022 Top 10 Sci-Tech Events in Zhejiang Province”.
BGI-Research reported the first multi-omics cellular map of the cerebral cortex of the macaque monkey, revealing potential neural cell subtypes associated with neurodegenerative diseases. The study was published in Nature Communications.
A study led by BGI-Research discovered the causal relationships between the gut microbiome and complex disease related indicators such as triglycerides, fructose metabolism, blood uric acid, and progesterone. The findings were published in Nature Genetics.
BGI-Research completed a series of studies on aging, including the development of health assessment models based on multi-omics data, and the establishment of a genetic trade-off model between longevity and complex disease. The institute received the Open Science Excellent Author Program Award presented by Wiley China.
BGI-Research completed a series of studies regarding new mechanisms for the occurrence and development of liver and gallbladder tumors, lymphoma, breast cancer, bladder cancer, and cervical cancer. The results were published in journals such as Cancer Cell and Cancer Discovery, providing new evidence for disease prevention and management.
BGI-Research continues to make efforts in digitizing life on earth and has contributed to over 39% of the animal and plant genomes sequenced globally by the end of 2022. The institute's scientific research accomplishments continued to lead in the field of global life sciences, with one paper published in Cell, one in Nature, and another 17 in the “CNNS” series. In total, nine articles were published as cover stories in leading scientific journals.
Research on incomplete lineage sorting and phenotypic evolution in marsupials was published in Cell, and the breakthrough in the methodology of diploid genome assembly was published in Nature. An exploration of the interaction between millet genotypes and microorganisms was published in Nature Communications and was recorded in the 2022 China Yearbook of Agriculture by the China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
BGI-Research led the development of a stable high-information-density DNA storage bit-to-base transcoding scheme, which was published in Nature Computational Science as a cover article.
BGI-Research took the lead in publishing the DNA Storage Blue Book, which interprets the advanced technology of DNA storage and aims to accelerate the academic communication and integration of industrial efforts.
BGI-Research continued to expand its network of branches – the Jinfeng Laboratory-BGI STOmics Center, BGI Changdang Lake Institute of Engineering Biology, and BGI-Research Hangzhou were launched. BGI-Research Sanya and Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory jointly built a multi-omics sequencing center.
BGI-Research's overseas branches in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific initiate a new phase of global expansion.
A BGI team led by Wang Jian, Co-founder and Chairman of BGI Group, and Xu Xun, Director of BGI-Research, traveled to 24 countries and regions including Singapore, Australia, and Indonesia, and visited 35 top universities and research institutions, including the National University of Singapore, Oxford University, and Cambridge University.
The team exchanged views and reached agreements with universities and research institutions on scientific research cooperation related to Spatio-temporal omics technology in the fields of brain science, disease, species development, and the origins of life, a big step forward for the global expansion of the international Spatio-temporal omics mega-science project.
The "three arrows" of BGI-Research - genomics, single-cell omics, and Spatio-temporal omics - will definitely enable us to achieve greater breakthroughs in the frontline of multiple fields in science and technology. We expect that, through mega-science projects and global cooperation, we and our collaborators will get much closer to the answers to ultimate questions concerning the whole mankind.