As part of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre’s (CIMMYT) Seeds of Discovery project, it is partnering with NRGene, a leader in agricultural big data genomic analysis, to generate genome assemblies of 20 tropical, subtropical and highland maize genomes.
This work is expected to augment the existing temperate reference for maize and significantly enhance molecular research and breeding for tropical agro-ecologies. CIMMYT will be using NRGene’s DeNovoMAGIC big data genome analysis platform to analyze the genomic content of CIMMYT maize populations and lines.
“Technology is the lynchpin to address the pressing need to grow the world’s food supply,” says Gil Ronen, NRGene.CEO. “The speed at which NRGene’s big data genomic analysis delivers results means that CIMMYT will be able to quickly apply the information to its practical research.”
The goal of the collaboration is to help CIMMYT and its partners accelerate the development of diverse, high yielding, nutritious maize that can better withstand infertile soils, drought, pests and diseases.
