MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., is honored to receive the RUSNANOPRIZE 2012 together with Dr. Sergey Lukyanov, for the innovation "Fluorescent proteins of coral polyps: discovery and use in biotechnology". The RUSNANOPRIZE is a major international award for nanotechnology discoveries and innovations that was established by the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO) in 2009. Each year, the RUSNANOPRIZE is awarded to up to three researchers and to the company that was the first to apply their discovery to mass production. The 2012 RUSNANOPRIZE, in the field of Medicine, Pharmaceutics and Biotechnologies, is sponsored by Bayer.

Dr. Lukyanov isolated the coral polyp fluorescent proteins from various reef organisms, and discovered that they glowed brightly under ultraviolet light. His discovery widened the fluorescent protein color spectrum significantly, and demonstrated that GFP homologs could occur in non-bioluminescent organisms. The fluorescent proteins he discovered have revolutionized life science research and biotechnology over the past decade: they enable researchers to monitor cellular activity in real time, characterize gene expression, and localize specific proteins, organelles, or cells of interest—even to follow multiple biological processes simultaneously.

"As a long-standing leader in the fluorescent protein field, Clontech is proud to have worked with Professor Lukyanov to commercialize his groundbreaking discovery of fluorescent proteins from coral polyps, notably the discovery of the first red fluorescent protein, DsRed. Clontech's Living Colors® line of fluorescent proteins, which are based on Dr. Lukyanov's discovery, provide the broadest spectral array of monomeric and multimeric fluorescent proteins available—from cyan fluorescent proteins, like our AmCyan, through far red-shifted proteins, such as HcRed," said Kazuki Yamamoto, President of Clontech Laboratories, Inc.

Clontech's Living Colors fluorescent proteins have broad applications in basic research and drug development. They have been used successfully in animals, plants and bacteria. Over the years, Living Colors fluorescent proteins have been integrated into a variety of assays and products. They also have been continuously improved, to serve the evolving technical needs of life science researchers.  

About Clontech Laboratories, Inc.
Clontech Laboratories, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., develops, manufactures, and distributes a wide range of life science research reagents under the Clontech and Takara brands. Key products include the Living Colors fluorescent proteins; high-performance qPCR and PCR reagents (including the Ex Taq™, LA Taq™, Titanium®, and Advantage® enzymes); RT enzymes and SMART™ library construction kits; the innovative In-Fusion® cloning system; Tet-based inducible gene expression systems; and a range of Macherey-Nagel nucleic acid purification tools. These and other products support applications including gene discovery, regulation, and function; protein expression and purification; RNAi and stem cell studies; and plant and food research. For more information, visit www.clontech.com.

About Takara Bio Inc.
Takara Bio Inc. is an innovative biotechnology company based in Shiga, Japan. As a world leader in biotechnology research and development, Takara Bio was the first company to market PCR technology in Japan and is also the developer of the RetroNectin® reagent, which is used as a world-standard in gene therapy protocols. In addition to providing research reagents and equipment to the life science research market, Takara Bio has active research and product development activities in the fields of gene and cell-based therapy, and agricultural biotechnology; and is committed to preventing disease and improving the quality of life for all people through the use of biotechnology. Through strategic alliances with other industry leaders, the Company aims to extend its reach around the world. More information is available at http://www.takara-bio.com.

SOURCE Clontech Laboratories, Inc.