Ness Ziona, Israel and Geneseo, Illinois, USA
August 11th, 2021
NRGene (TASE: NRGN), a leading genomics AI company, and Wyffels Hybrids, a U.S. Farm Family owned seed corn company, are pleased to announce the signing of a multi-year agreement for start-to-end genotyping services using NRGene’s SNPer™ technology to enhance Wyffels Hybrids’ corn breeding program.
According to the agreement, NRGene will analyze Wyffels’s genetic diversity to design a fully customized SNP set and allow for cost-effective genotyping and imputation. This will enable Wyffels to accelerate their breeding through the application of Genomic Selection, further enhancing their ability to bring premium seed corn to the market.
Corn is one of the world’s most widely produced and consumed cereal crops. Its seed market was estimated by Research and Markets at USD 24.5 billion in 2018, with the United States, the largest producer, accounting for 34% of world production. In addition to its primary use for food, corn is used for animal feed, biofuels and to extract starch, oil and ethanol.
“Collaboration with NRGene and the use of their genotyping technology allows us to accelerate our breeding program and more rapidly deliver state-of-the-art seed corn technologies to American farmers”, said Shane Meis, Wyffels Director of Research.
NRGene’s SNPer™ is a fully customized, all-inclusive genotyping solution. Through NRGene’s unique diversity analysis, an optimized and customized SNP panel is designed for a specific breeding program. In this way, SNPer™ maximizes genetic information with a minimum number of DNA data points and can lower genotyping costs as much as 70% as compared to commonly used genotyping tools.
“NRGene has been leading maize genomics for seven years, executing vast projects in collaboration with both commercial companies and academia. We are excited to collaborate with Wyffels on advancing maize breeding even further. Our goal is to broaden the genetic understanding of Wyffels maize program, providing them with more knowledge in the most efficient way”, said Dr. Gil Ronen, NRGene’s CEO and Co-founder.
About NRGene
NRGene develops and commercializes cutting-edge AI based genomic tools that are reshaping agriculture and livestock worldwide. Our cloud-based software solutions are designed to analyze big data generated by next generation sequencing technologies in an affordable, scalable and precise manner. By applying our vast proprietary databases and AI-based technologies, we provide leading international agriculture, seed and food companies with computational tools to optimize and accelerate their breeding programs. For more information visit www.nrgene.com
About Wyffels
Wyffels Hybrids was established in 1946 with a vision to produce seeds that could help friends and neighbors be more successful. That promise has resulted in significant growth and opportunity as Wyffels continues to build a team of employees who share that vision for the seed business, and passion for serving customers. Wyffels is headquartered in Geneseo, IL, with an exclusive focus on developing and marketing elite corn hybrids. The company is dedicated to providing corn growers in the Central Corn Belt of the United States exceptional products, the latest agronomic information, and unmatched customer service and product support.
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