Takara Bio and Illumina Unveil High-Resolution Spatial Transcriptomics Workflow at AGBT 2026
Event summary
- Takara Bio USA presented a scientific poster at AGBT 2026 detailing a new spatial transcriptomics workflow developed with Illumina.
- The collaboration combines Takara Bio’s Trekker Single-Cell Spatial Mapping Kit with Illumina’s Single Cell 3′ RNA Prep assay.
- The workflow enables high-density, single-cell resolution spatial maps without specialized instrumentation.
- The solution can recover over 100,000 spatially resolved nuclei per sample while detecting low-abundance transcripts.
The big picture
This collaboration underscores a broader industry shift toward instrument-free, high-resolution spatial biology solutions. By leveraging Illumina’s established single-cell sequencing ecosystem, Takara Bio is positioning itself as a key enabler of scalable, multi-omics research. The partnership could accelerate adoption in both academic and commercial settings, particularly for applications requiring fine-tissue architecture analysis.
What we're watching
- Market Adoption
- How quickly researchers will integrate this workflow into existing Illumina-based single-cell sequencing pipelines.
- Competitive Positioning
- Whether Takara Bio and Illumina can sustain leadership in spatial transcriptomics amid rising competition.
- Technological Scalability
- The pace at which the workflow will scale to handle even larger, more complex tissue samples.
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