The WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre was established in June 1992 as a collaborative resource centre of Murdoch, UWA and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries WA (now the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development DPIRD).

Despite the sustainable production of food crops being a vital part of the WA and world’s economy, there were limited biotechnology research facilities in WA at the time State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (SABC) was established.

The SABC offered much-needed access to world class research facilities such as genomics and molecular biology research facilities, DNA sequencing machines, greenhouses and laboratories for researchers from across WA.

With these sought after facilities at hand, SABC was used to support academia, industry, government and commercial partners with research across agricultural sciences, veterinary sciences, environment and conservation science, medical, molecular and forensic sciences.

The SABC enabled researchers to work together to focus on molecular activities involving or promoting primary production of commercial livestock, crop plants or microbes, or their subsequent processing for added value. And it still plays this important role in Western Australia today 

The Centre was established by Professor Michael Jones and he served as Director for approximately 30 years. Since 2022, SABC has been run under the helm of Professor Rajeev Varshney FRS as Director.

In the past two years, the SABC has upgraded its research facilities with the state-of-the art sequencing, genotyping and computational genomics research facilities.

In September 2023, on the 30th anniversary of the Centre, an SABC-Advanced Genomics Platform, comprising of next generation sequencing, high-throughput genotyping and intensive computational analysis, was opened by Murdoch University Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew Deeks, during an international symposium.

SABC has also added Speed Breeding facilities to its portfolio to accelerate pre-breeding research at Murdoch University.

Professor Varshney says the SABC has expanded its collaboration with partners in Australia and globally to make a profound contribution to the agricultural industry.

Connecting and collaborating with research groups, scientists, and industry drives what we do here at Murdoch University.

Professor Varshney

“As a multi-user resource and research centre, we strive to advance Australia’s agricultural industry by keeping our growers internationally competitive, and we’re immensely proud of the outstanding track record in research productivity that SABC has facilitated.

“Our research helps improve primary production of commercial crop plants, livestock or microbes, and also supports research in biosecurity, biomedical sciences, and environmental biotechnology.” 

The SABC aligns its research activities with Murdoch’s sustainability theme and values, and continues to support the next generation of scientists striving to positively impact Australian and international agriculture.

Over the last three decades, the SABC has continued to grow and attract leading agricultural research scientists and affiliated organisations from across the State. At any time, 15 to 20 diverse research groups and companies could be renting space for their research.

“If you are seeking state-of-the-art facilities in research and development in broadacre or horticultural crops, veterinary or biomedical research, or wish to get exposure or collaborate in modern genomics and biotechnology, then SABC is undoubtedly the place for you,” Professor Varshney said.

Image: SABC researcher Professor Chengdao Li