Highlights of BD Biosciences at AGBT 2023

The first post-pandemic in-person meeting of Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) in Florida witnessed a diverse participant group including leading global researchers, key opinion leaders and innovators, numbering over a thousand people. Discussions focused on three major areas—next-generation sequencing (NGS), spatial biology and single-cell multiomics. While progress in NGS was displayed in terms of new chemistries, longer reads, newer applications and the battle to reduce the cost of sequencing, developments in spatial biology focused on novel ways to interrogate cells in detail.

With the increased appreciation of the intricacies of cell interactions and influence of heterogenous cell populations, the need to efficiently analyze cell populations at the single-cell level with multiple analytes to get a complete picture has been ever growing. There have been consistent innovations in the field of single-cell multiomics (scM), and this year was no exception. At AGBT, several experts in the single-cell space, including BD Biosciences, displayed their latest products and solutions. True to the spirit of scientific exchange, there were academic presentations with topics ranging from a single-cell methylome study to sequencing dog genomes and analyzing cfDNA methylation. There was also no dearth of posters depicting interesting data generated using newer products from companies.

Being a sponsor at AGBT

BD Biosciences was a Bronze Sponsor at AGBT with a dedicated suite to showcase innovations in the single-cell space—a field closely connected to flow cytometry through a meaningful workflow. At the meeting, BD introduced several new products to gather cell-specific information that would enable deeper understanding and accelerated time to insight compared to a traditional workflow. An announcement regarding the BD Rhapsody™ TCR/BCR Mouse Profiling Assay and a pre-announcement on the upcoming BD Rhapsody™ HT Xpress System and intracellular AbSeq assay were made.

The two main mantras—high throughput and efficiency

High throughput and efficiency are the main themes for BD Biosciences’ new product introductions. The BD^® Flex Single-Cell Multiplexing Kit (BD^® Flex SMK) that supports high-throughput and single-cell sample multiplexing for various species and cell types was introduced. But the star of the new BD products was undoubtedly the BD Rhapsody™ HT Xpress System.

The BD Rhapsody™ HT Xpress System debuted at AGBT and made a splash since it can enable large cell number studies, making a million-cell study a distinct possibility! Enabled by the BD Rhapsody™ System’s proprietary enhanced bead technology, the system enables the capture of hundreds of thousands of single cells, the information from which can then be utilized to generate various types of libraries for NGS applications. The in-suite presentations also featured applications where the technology can be used, including CITE-seq with BD^® AbSeq Antibodies, CRISPR screening using the BD Rhapsody™ Single-Cell Analysis System and high-throughput single-cell analysis with the BD Rhapsody™ HT Xpress System.

Single source for single-cell multiomics

Single-cell analysis enables the understanding of the intricacies and complexities of cellular systems, insights that are impossible to be gleaned from traditional genome-wide techniques. The single-cell workflow entails several steps—from cell sorting to sample processing, library preparation for sequencing and data analysis. Typically, the instrumentation and reagents required for these steps are procured from different vendors, which runs the risk of introducing errors or inconsistencies that may arise from using multiple sources.

At AGBT, BD Biosciences presented the breadth and depth of its single-cell multiomics portfolio, along with its deep scientific expertise and partnership with researchers. Combined with all the other product offerings, such as the imaging-enabled BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter, BD^® AbSeq Antibody Oligos, BD Rhapsody™ HT Xpress System, and BD single-cell multiomics reagents and assays, the portfolio of products presents a single vendor source and workflow for single-cell analysis. This was highlighted in the BD sponsor talk by Aruna Ayer, PhD, Sr. Director of R&D, which described how using a single-vendor source approach can streamline the workflow, save time and resources, and provide a more efficient and reliable analysis of single-cell multiomics data.

A proud moment for BD

To top it all, our hearts were filled with pride when Aruna was chosen for the Women Changing Science Award from the Rosalind Franklin Society! Aruna was recognized for her outstanding contributions to science, as well as her passion for advocacy and inclusion and diversity. Aruna’s contribution to innovations in science through the various products she has brought to life in her career with different companies, her success as “an inventor on too many patents to mention,” and her vision for helping other women develop their professional skills and support systems such as childcare and work life balance were recognized at AGBT.

She brought her wealth of experience and expertise to BD Biosciences and has been instrumental in the development of several new products, such as the BD Rhapsody™ HT Xpress System and BD^® Flex SMK.

^{Aruna Ayer (middle) receives the Women Changing Science Award from the Rosalind Franklin Society}

The BD Biosciences single-cell multiomics portfolio

BD Biosciences provides high-quality single-cell multiomics instruments, reagents and bioinformatics tools that provide reliable single-cell multiomics data necessary for use in translational research settings. With our microwell-based scM instruments and unique proteomics assays, such as the BD^® AbSeq Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates, you can now obtain more proteomics and genomics data than was ever possible before.

Learn more about our BD Rhapsody™ HT Xpress System and single-cell multiomics reagents.