Bayer Gets Ceres DNA Software

The software has been used for marker-assisted breeding and biotech trait pipelines to to develop elite parental breeding lines and sorghum hybrids in Brazil.

The software has been used for marker-assisted breeding and biotech trait pipelines to to develop elite parental breeding lines and sorghum hybrids in Brazil.

Bayer CropScience has purchased a multi-year license to use genome visualization software developed by Ceres Inc., the agricultural biotech company announced today in a press release.

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The company’s Persephone software allows researchers to analyze large amounts of genetic data on macro and micro levels, from chromosomes to individual DNA building blocks. Much like how geographic information systems (GIS) mapping software allows users to add weather, traffic or other information to a geographic map, Persephone users are able to add layers and cross reference related information on top of the genetic data that the software gathers.

“The explosion of low cost full genome DNA sequencing, from plant science to biomedical research, is creating incredibly large data sets that are rich sources of information if mined effectively,” said Ceres President and CEO Richard Hamilton.

“Our company will benefit from implementing this integrated solution, as this platform allows interactive querying and integrated visualization of various omics data,” said Dr. Jakob de Vlieg, Head of the Computational Life Sciences group at Bayer CropScience.

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Tim Swaller, Ceres’ Vice President of Genomics Technologies, noted that speed is highly important because the genetics market has struggled with massive datasets generated by DNA sequencing and genetic testing that is extremely time-consuming. For instance, a typical genome contains multiple terabytes of data. Plant genomes, which can be larger than the human genome, have been some of the most challenging. The company has used this software in its marker-assisted breeding and biotech trait pipelines to speed the development of elite parental breeding lines and improved sorghum hybrids for Brazil. It hopes to have a cloud-based version available in the near future.

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