Lynx Announces Publication of Manuscript Describing ``Massive Attack on the Arabidopsis Transcriptome''.

HAYWARD, Calif. -- MPSS Technology Maps New Gene Data on the Structure of a Higher Plant Species

Lynx Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:LYNX) today announced the acceptance for publication of two peer-reviewed manuscripts that describe the use of Lynx's Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS(TM)) gene expression technology to document gene activity data for nearly every gene in the experimental plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. The data used in these manuscripts were generated through a National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored project that further expands scientific knowledge about the genome sequence of this model plant.

Arabidopsis thaliana is a small plant in the mustard family with one of the smallest genomes and the highest gene density so far identified in a flowering plant. Decoding the DNA of this model plant provides a complete catalog of all genes in the plant life cycle, from seed to flower and fruit. Researchers believe that what scientists learn from the study of Arabidopsis genes will be immediately applicable to economically important plant species.

Thomas J. Vasicek, Ph.D., vice president of business development at Lynx, said, "In 2000, the plant biotechnology world reached a major milestone when the Arabidopsis genome was fully sequenced. A full understanding of how the genome sequence encodes all developmental programs and responds to environmental conditions is the next major challenge for every genome project. This perspective requires complete functional knowledge of the genes and precise measurement of their activity in a range of contexts. Thus MPSS(TM) is critical in this quest since we believe it is the only technology that provides the total picture."

The cover of the August 2004 issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology, one of the top scientific journals for biotechnology research, dubbed the paper a "Massive Attack on the Arabidopsis Transcriptome." The actual article, "The analysis of the transcriptional activity of Arabidopsis thaliana by massively parallel signature sequencing," provides details on research headed by Dr. Blake Meyers of the University of Delaware, in conjunction with Lynx researchers, on the analysis of transcriptome data from Arabidopsis tissues.

The article describes the complexity of transcripts produced from the Arabidopsis genome, using five MPSS(TM) libraries containing more than 12 million signature sequences (the current online database contains more than 36 million signature sequences from 14 tissues). The data from this NSF-sponsored project indicate that more than 18,000 genes are expressed among the five tissues. Additionally, this research resulted in the discovery of more than a 1,000 new genes, and demonstrated that alternative splicing and poly-adenylation are common and important features in plants.

The research utilized MPSS(TM) instruments, which analyze millions of DNA molecules in parallel, providing comprehensive gene expression information with an unprecedented level of accuracy and sensitivity, according to Lynx scientists. They further noted that based on these data, researchers can classify genes according to their expression profile, deduce their physiological role and construct exhaustive lists of genes involved in specific functions.

The second manuscript is scheduled to appear in the September 2004 journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. This paper, authored by members of the Institute of Cell, Animal & Population Biology (ICAPB) at the University of Edinburgh and co-authored by Dr. Meyers, describes the relationship between gene expression and molecular evolution in two closely related plant species Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata. The authors measured the correlation between the rate of protein evolution, gene expression, and the presence of particular transfer-RNAs in different tissues.

"The addition of these two papers to the set already published by the NSF-sponsored project indicates the utility of these data and the importance of this publicly available information as a resource for the plant research community," added Dr. Vasicek. "This marks another significant response to the availability of these public MPSS(TM) expression data for a model plant. However, it is just the tip of the iceberg. We expect the response to the mouse reference transcriptome to be substantially greater given the much larger size of the medical biotechnology community that uses the mouse as a model system."

The Web site with the original data can be found at http://mpss.udel.edu/at.

About University of Delaware

Located in Newark, Delaware, the University of Delaware was founded in 1743 and is a state-assisted, privately controlled institution, with more than 16,000 undergraduates and nearly 3,000 graduate students. It is the major research university in Delaware. The Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI) is a statewide collaboration among universities, state government, and the private sector that houses faculty from diverse University of Delaware departments. It was founded to help establish Delaware as a center of excellence in biotechnology and the life sciences.

About Lynx

Lynx is a leader in the development and application of novel genomic analysis solutions. Lynx's MPSS(TM) instruments analyze millions of DNA molecules in parallel enabling genome structure characterization at an unprecedented level of resolution. As applied to gene expression analysis, MPSS(TM) provides comprehensive and quantitative digital information important to modern systems biology research in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural industries. For more information, visit Lynx's Web site at www.lynxgen.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to the identification of differentially expressed genes, the potential success of collaboration arrangements, the addition of new collaborations and agreements and Lynx's performance of its genomics discovery services for current and future customers and collaborators. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "predicts," "expects," "envisions," "hopes," "estimates," "intends," "will," "continue," "may," "potential," "should," "confident," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Lynx to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in Lynx's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, as amended, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2004. Lynx does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.