Syngenta selects NRGene Tech to accelerate crop breeding

Syngenta, a leading global agrochemical and seed company, has chosen NRGene’s GenoMAGICTM cloud-based software package for more comprehensive evaluations to accelerate trait discovery and breeding across diverse crops. NRGene is the leading genomic big data company.

“We were very pleased with our preliminary evaluations and are taking a more thorough look at the potential of GenoMAGIC in our research and development,” says Joseph Clarke, Principal Research Scientist, Syngenta. “The genetic diversity management strategies behind GenoMAGIC are a step above conventional means and enable clear value gains for downstream analytics, directly impacting cost and timeline models.”

The GenoMAGIC software analyzes unlimited volumes of genomic data, identifying broad sequence polymorphisms and haplotypes. This enables scientists and breeders to easily relate genomic sequences with beneficial traits, making genomic selection and trait mapping much more productive. Data use is accelerated, making breeding both faster and more cost effective. GenoMAGIC is being licensed non-exclusively to organizations involved in genetic research and breeding.

Syngenta continuously evaluates, develops and adopts cutting-edge technologies, like GenoMagic, to ensure the most relevant information is being used the right way to produce better performing seeds more cost effectively.

The Syngenta-NRGene two-year relationship has resulted in denovo assembly of multiple genomes across several crop species and creation of pangenomes that show strong potential to add value in breeding and genetic research. During 2016, Syngenta tested GenoMAGICTM by incorporating its own genetic diversity and field data to evaluate the benefits gained by GenoMAGIC analysis. Moving forward, the sophisticated genome management and data mining process behind GenoMagic will be evaluated more comprehensively at larger scale for broader value gains across the breeding process.

“The relationship between Syngenta and NRGene has already borne significant fruit,” says Dr. Gil Ronen, NRGene’s CEO. “Syngenta’s broad and diverse data cataloged within GenoMAGIC will continue to make breeding much more productive and efficient.”