BEVERLY, Mass. — seqWell said it has launched the AgriPrep Library Prep Kit, a new product designed to support low-pass whole genome sequencing and SKIM-sequencing applications in agrigenomics by improving scalability, performance, and affordability.
The company said AgriPrep is intended to help accelerate adoption of low-coverage whole genome sequencing approaches that deliver genome-wide insights at a fraction of the cost of traditional whole genome sequencing. The kit is based on a tagmentation-driven library preparation method powered by seqWell’s one-step ExpressPlex workflow, which features a 100-minute protocol requiring approximately 30 minutes of hands-on time.
According to seqWell, the kit supports ultra-high-throughput workflows through the availability of up to 3,072 built-in indexes, streamlined protocols, and compatibility with automation. The company said these features are designed to meet the needs of agrigenomic applications such as parentage analysis, genomic selection, trait mapping, and variant discovery across plant and animal genomes.
“We have been trialing the seqWell AgriPrep method in our NGS service lab for low-pass whole genome sequencing and have been impressed by the workflow simplicity and the resulting cost-savings,” said Joris Parmentier, associate portfolio director for next-generation sequencing at LGC Biosearch Technologies. “The method shows promise for high-throughput workflows in combination with the appropriate automation, and up- and downstream technology compatibility.”
Jack Leonard, co-founder and chief technology officer of seqWell, said early uptake of the product reflects a longstanding need within agrigenomics. “The rapid adoption of AgriPrep by small and large service providers and agricultural biotechnology companies pays tribute to the scope of the previously unmet need for affordable and scalable library prep within agrigenomics,” Leonard said. “We believe relieving the NGS library prep bottleneck will have far-reaching impacts on the conversion from microarrays to low-pass whole genome sequencing, bringing with it a wealth of actionable insights for more informed breeding and cultivation decision-making.”
seqWell said it will highlight AgriPrep at the upcoming Plant and Animal Genome Conference, scheduled to take place in San Diego from January 9 to 14, 2026. Conference activities will include an industry workshop focused on scalable low-pass sequencing workflows, a presentation on expanding agrigenomic insights using high-throughput library preparation, and a poster describing scalable genotyping-by-sequencing using low-pass whole genome sequencing.
