Illumina struck a partnership with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance to sequence up to 4,000 samples from the Frozen Zoo biobank, generating whole‑genome and multi‑omic data to accelerate conservation genetics and wildlife medicine research. The project aims to apply genomics to practical conservation decisions across roughly 1,300 species. In a separate industry move, Pacific Biosciences sold select short‑read sequencing assets and related IP to Illumina for roughly $48.1 million, signaling PacBio’s explicit pivot toward high‑throughput long‑read platforms. PacBio said proceeds will sharpen its focus on long‑read chemistry and platform development while Illumina expands its catalog of sequencing technologies.